Eisai, Biogen's Leqembi nabs UK nod, but reimbursement remains elusive

In a decision contrary to its European counterpart, the U.K.'s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved Eisai and Biogen's Alzheimer's disease drug Leqembi—though that's where the positive news for the two pharmas end.

Tuesday, MHRA said it has made Leqembi the first treatment for Alzheimer’s in the U.K. that has shown “some evidence of efficacy” in slowing disease progression. Its green light, however, is for early-stage Alzheimer’s in a patient subgroup that in the U.K. is made up of about 70,000 patients. There are around 1 million patients believed to have dementia in the region.