Five major U.S. health systems said they would offer Eisai and Biogen's promising new Alzheimer's drug Leqembi after working out payment and administrative policies, and how to assess and monitor patients, most likely in the next month or two.
Leqembi, which won full U.S. regulatory approval last month, is the first treatment proven to slow progression of the mind-robbing disease for people in the earliest stages of Alzheimer's.
Neurologists at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Chicago's Northwestern Memorial and Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai all said they plan to roll out the drug in the next few months. Cleveland Clinic and Utah’s Intermountain health system said they have not started offering it. "Many physicians have been prescribing Leqembi and uptake continues to progress as anticipated," Eisai and Biogen said in a joint email on Friday.
To qualify, patients undergo cognitive tests to ensure their disease is early enough to be treatable, genetic testing to better understand their risks for side effects, and either brain scans or a spinal fluid test to confirm the presence of amyloid - a protein that Leqembi removes. Recognizing the brain swelling issue on an MRI is challenging, especially when it is mild, and takes special training, said Dr. David Knopman of the Mayo Clinic.
Johnson estimates the system has 100-150 diagnosed Medicare patients on a waitlist, but they will have to be reevaluated before treatment. Assessments for the presence of beta amyloid are all being done through spinal fluid tests, she said.
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