FDA Gives Full Approval to Alzheimer’s Drug Leqembi

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently gave full approval to the Alzheimer's drug Leqembi, clearing the way for insurance coverage of the pricey drug.

“The full FDA approval will open the floodgates for people with early Alzheimer's to get this drug. It's a big deal because it's very expensive at $26,500 per year," Robert Vassar, director of Northwestern Medicine's Mesulam Center for Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease in Chicago, said in a statement released. "Now, Medicaid and Medicare will cover it as long as patients enroll in a registry to track their progress," he added.

“It's a big breakthrough because it's the first disease-modifying drug for Alzheimer's. This has been the holy grail since the early 1990s when amyloid was discovered, and people were trying to design drugs to eliminate amyloid from the brain," Vassar explained.

"This is the first successful one. There were many attempts in the past that failed. It really shows that removing amyloid does delay the progression of Alzheimer's disease," he said.

“During the 18-month trial,