The Alzheimer’s drug is available, but sales are slow

From VOA Learning English, this is the Health and Lifestyle report.

Alzheimer’s disease affects a person’s memory, thinking and behavior. The first drug shown to slow the effects of Alzheimer’s disease hit the market in the United States more than a year ago. However, sales of the drug Leqembi have been slow.

Reasons for slow sales

Major U.S. hospital systems have taken months to begin using the new Alzheimer’s drug. A little health insurers have refused to pay for the medicine. And doctors say they expect some patients will be slow to take Leqembi because of the drugs’ limited results and possible side effects.

Doctors say it will take years to learn how to best use the drug. They add that work must be done to improve diagnosis Alzheimer’s

Dr. Ambar Kulshreshtha specializes in dementia care near Atlanta, Georgia. He has hope with the drug. He said: This is the beginning of a very exciting journey.

In the US, about 6 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s. There is no cure for the disease. But studies show that Leqembi helps clear a type of protein that builds up in the brain called amyloid beta. Amyloid beta is considered an important sign of Alzheimer’s.

Studies have shown that Leqembi can delay the progression of the disease by several months in people with mild symptoms. Some experts say the delay may be too small for patients to notice.

Side effects of the drugs can include swelling or bleeding in the brain. Patients taking Leqembi require regular testing for possible side effects.

Last July, the US Food and Drug Administration gave Leqembi full approval for patients with early stages of the disease The U.S. health care coverage program for people 65 and older, called Medicare, covers Leqembi and the cost of tests needed to diagnose patients.

Complex drug administration system

Alexander Scott is an employee of Eisai, the Japanese company that manufactures Leqembi. Scott said hospitals and health systems have taken longer than expected to provide Leqembi.

It’s not like we’re adding a drug to an existing system, he said. He said hospitals need to build a system for the drug.

Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles, for example, began administering the drug in early March. This effort required months to establish a plan that addressed the diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring of the problems. We were very careful with that, said Dr. Sarah Kremen, a behavioral neurologist at Cedars-Sinai.

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, began using Leqembi in October of last year. The health center only uses the drug for patients who live about 100 miles from its offices. This is so that doctors can contact them quickly if they have problems.

Pay for the expensive medicine

Health systems still don’t know what drug coverage looks like infusions, and the necessary tests work. Because the drug can cost more than $26,000 a year, there are concerns that patients will face costs they cannot afford.

An Eisai spokesman said nearly three-quarters commercial Health care plans in the US cover the drug outside of Medicare.

But doctors worry that getting coverage is still difficult for some patients, especially those too young to qualify for Medicare.

Scott Berkheiser is 57 years old and lives in Florida. Your health insurance company would not pay for the drug. So his first infusion of Leqembi was delayed until last December.

He said the drugmaker agreed to supply him with the drug at no cost while making partial insurance payments, known as copayments, for the treatment.

It was a little crazy, he said. It seemed like the kind of game that had to make sense for some economic reason.

Delayed and complex diagnosis and treatment

Starting treatments on time remains another problem.

When Leqembi launched last year, doctors at Texas Neurology in Dallas tested 60 people as possible candidates for Leqembi. However, only eight started treatment. The head of Texas Neurology, David Evans, said the other candidates either rejected the drug or had passed the initial stage of the disease. Evans said the period, or window, when it’s best to use the drug is very short.

Doctors say more needs to be done to quickly identify patients and start treatment before the disease worsens. For example, if people say they have problems with their memory, doctors must rule out other causes.

Dr. Kulshreshtha said these can include thyroid problems, vitamin deficiencies, medication problems and depression. Memory tests for dementia may also require multiple visits to the doctor.

Some patients may be ineligible for Leqembi because it would conflict with the medication they take to prevent blows. And patients may have to wait months to see a brain specialist who would to prescribe the drug

Those receiving the first infusion have said that the treatment process is not difficult. Leqembi’s patient, Berkheiser, said his infusions went like clockwork after starting treatment.

Charles Clegg of Salem, Alabama recently finished his 13th Leqembi infusion. Visit a treatment center that is close to your home. Clegg and his wife, Carol, said he has had no side effects and his short-term memory has improved.

This drug gives you hope, said Carol Clegg.

And this is the Health and Lifestyle report.

I’m Anna Matteo. And I’m Dan Friedell.

Tom Murphy reported this story for the Associated Press. Adapted by Anna Matteo for VOA Learning English.

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Words in this story

insurer n. insurance provider, such as health insurance, where a person pays a company regularly so that the company pays most of the costs of a covered expense

diagnosis n. the act of identifying a disease that affects a person

journey n. a journey or a long process involving unexpected events

stage n. a different level or condition from previous and subsequent ones

infusion n. a treatment that involves adding a drug by one of several means

commercial adj. related to the business and making profits

ineligible adj. cannot be used or taken

stroke n. a serious medical problem in which blood flow is blocked, preventing blood from reaching the brain or heart

to prescribe v. approve the use of medicines whose use is restricted by law (approval must come from a doctor)

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