With the trial results for the Alzheimer’s drug donanemab come serious decisions for the NHS. Experts believe it is now a question of when, not if, treatments will be approved in the UK.
A study of 1,700 patients shows that donanemab slows cognitive decline from Alzheimer’s by up to 60 per cent.
Yet if patients are to benefit, the health service will need to act swiftly to boost both its ability to diagnose the disease — amid suggestions that only 2 per cent of eligible patients would presently receive the drug — and the availability of clinics and staff to deliver it.
The makers of donanemab hope for a decision from US regulators by the end of the year. Both this drug and its
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