News

Eisai and Biogen have announced that Leqembi (lecanemab) has been launched in China as a treatment for mild cognitive impairment (MCI) due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and mild AD dementia, following its approval in January 2024.

This makes China the third country to launch Leqembi, following the US and Japan.

According to the press release, ‘Eisai estimates there will be 17 million patients with MCI or mild dementia due to AD (collectively referred to as early AD) in China in 2024, which is expected to increase as the population ages. Eisai is distributing the product in China and conducting information prov ision activities through specialised Medical Representatives, while also working to build a unique early AD diagnosis and treatment pathway that combines online and offline services’. The press release continues, stating that ‘in China, Leqembi will first be launched in the private market. In collaboration with Eisai, a major Chinese medical insurance company has developed and launched a healthcare insurance plan specifically for AD including partial coverage of the drug cost […] Through these efforts, Eisai is committed to promoting the early detection, diagnosis and treatment of AD in China, building the dementia ecosystem, and supporting people with early AD to “live their fullest lives”’.

The drug works by selectively binding to soluble Aβ aggregates (protofibrils) as well as insoluble Aβ aggregates (fibrils) which make up a major part of Aβ plaques in AD, t herefore reducing both Aβp rotofibrils and Aβ fibrils in the brain.