UK drug regulator approves Alzheimer’s drug but government likely won’t pay for it

AP Medical Writer

LONDON (AP) — Britain’s drug regulator has authorized the Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, saying that it’s the first medicine to show some impact in slowing progression of the neurodegenerative disease. But the U.K. government likely won’t be paying for it after an independent agency separately issued draft guidance concluding that the benefits of Leqembi “cannot be considered good value for the taxpayer.” The drug is still available to be prescribed if patients pay for it privately. In the U.S., it costs about $26,000 per patient per year. Leqembi was authorized by the U.S. drug regulator in July last year.