Alzheimer's 'game-changing' wonder drug one step closer to being introduced in Britain

The Medicines and Health Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) received the application for the drug lecanemab just one year after tests suggested it could help dementia sufferers.

A test of 1,800 patients found lecanemab cleared toxic protein clumps from the brain.

The development could help stave off nerve damage and could buy dementia suffers precious extra time.

Around 900,000 people live with dementia in the United Kingdom.

There is currently no cure or effective treatment for the condition.

America’s Food and Drug Administration approved lecanemab in January.

It could soon become available to patients in the UK under an accelerated avenue.

Pharmaceutical companies Eisa and Biogen revealed the MHRA placed the drug under its Innovative Licensing and Access Pathway.

The separate pathway aims to cut down the time it takes for medicines to reach patients.

Despite an accelerated route to approval, it could take years before NHS clinics hand out the expensive drug.

Lecanemad trials found it could reduce Alzheimer’s-related decline but had several severe side effects, including brain bleeds.

The MHRA will eventually consider the positive and adverse impact of the drug.

Dr Susan Kohlhaas, from Alzheimer’s Research UK, described the results from the previous trials as a “historic moment for dementia research”.

She added: “This is the first drug that’s been shown to not only remove the build-up of a protein called amyloid in the brain, but to have a statistically significant impact on cognitive decline in people with early-stage disease.”

David Thomas, head of policy at Alzheimer’s Research UK, also said: “We want to see the MHRA reach an evidence-based decision on lecanemab’s safety and efficacy as a matter of urgency.

“People [in the UK] with AD and their families deserve effective new treatments and, should lecanemab be approved, it would be the first new Alzheimer’s drug here for nearly 20 years.”