How well the drug works and its potential impact on Canada’s health-care systems are now considerations for people with the disease, their families, physicians and governments.<\/p>\n
Who is eligible?<\/strong><\/p>\n Lecanemab, also known by the brand name Leqembi, is approved to treat mild cognitive impairment and early stages of Alzheimer’s disease.<\/p>\n “This is how you we get a foothold in any therapeutic area,” said Dr. \u00a0Sharon\u00a0Cohen, medical director at Toronto Memory Program and an investigator in the drug’s clinical trials. “You get a first, disease-slowing medication and then you add to it.”<\/p>\n Patients must have a documented presence<\/a> of amyloid plaque in the brain, the drug manufacturer said.<\/p>\n Patients must also seek testing for gene variants associated with negative side-effects. The new treatment is only available for patients with a single or no copy of a gene variant called APOE4. Patients with two APOE4 copies are more likely to experience swelling or bleeding<\/a> in the brain.<\/p>\n Access to the required genetic testing<\/a> varies across provinces and territories.<\/p>\n Is it effective?<\/strong><\/p>\n When someone is diagnosed with dementia, a common fear is losing the ability to stay independent, said Dr. Samir Sinha, a geriatrician and clinician scientist at Sinai Health and the University Health Network in Toronto.<\/p>\n “Right now, it takes about 18 months before you might notice some sort of significant difference,” Sinha said about taking the drug.<\/p>\n The Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi is given every two weeks through an IV. (Eisai\/Reuters)<\/p>\n It’s estimated 750,000 Canadians live with dementia and about 500,000 of them have a diagnosis<\/a>, said Sinha. By the time a lot of people receive a formal diagnosis, they may no longer be good candidates for this medication, he said.<\/p>\n Sinha said he thinks more research is needed to answer whether lecanemab’s benefits are worth the $26,000 US it costs in other countries.\u00a0He questioned whether the results would be noticeable enough to allow patients to stay independent.<\/p>\n “It’s a positive development that there’s another medication that’s been approved and it’s available, but it’s not necessarily a medication that would be the most practical one for me to prescribe or recommend for the majority of my patients.”<\/p>\n What’s involved?<\/strong><\/p>\n While there’s no one diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s, to confirm eligibility for this medication, people first need specialized diagnostics like a lumbar puncture or amyloid PET scan.<\/p>\n The infusions are given every two weeks through an IV, with each session taking about an hour. In the U.S., infusions<\/a> are given at hospitals and infusion therapy centres.<\/p>\n Anyone taking the drug needs ongoing monitoring, typically\u00a0 with PET scans or MRIs, to ensure safety and effectiveness.<\/p>\n “Meeting these demands will require substantial investments in human resources, infrastructure, training, and the creation of new health-care pathways to deliver such treatments effectively and equitably,” the Alzheimer’s Society said.<\/p>\n What are the side-effects?<\/strong><\/p>\n The Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging outlined side-effects that came up in clinical trials, such as brain swelling or bleeding<\/a> for two antibody treatments including lecanemab.<\/p>\n Dr. Howard\u00a0Chertkow, scientific director of the consortium and a senior scientist at Baycrest Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, likened lecanemab to a first-base hit, not a home run.<\/p>\n “Women get maybe much less benefit than men do,” said Chertkow. “There may be other subgroups. Younger people don’t benefit as much as older people. So we need to know precisely who’s going to really benefit from the medication.”<\/p>\n Cost and coverage<\/strong><\/p>\n The society urged Canada’s Drug Agency and provincial governments to quickly bring the drug to market and publicly fund it so all eligible patients can afford to take it, noting it costs about $26,000 US a year in other countries.<\/p>\n It can take up to two years after regulatory approval for new medicines to become publicly covered. Private or extended benefits may offer access sooner.<\/p>\n![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/07ada3217dd547050400cef271c27359.jpeg\"\/)
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