It has been announced today that the Scottish Medicines Consortium’s assessment of Alzheimer’s disease treatment donanemab has not been successful.
What is donanemab?
Donanemab, sold under the brand name Kisunla, is a disease-modifying drug used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. It works by removing a protein called beta-amyloid from the brain that is believed to cause Alzheimer’s disease.
Our response
Henry Simmons, Alzheimer Scotland’s Chief Executive, said:
"The decision by the Scottish Medicines Consortium not to recommend donanemab for use by NHS Scotland is yet another devastating blow for people living with dementia, their families and carers.
"While we recognise that there is an established assessment process, given the extremely new nature of the dementia drugs that are under assessment and the fact that we’re in the very early stages of this drug discovery process, it’s unlikely that any new treatment is going to be a silver bullet.
"It’s our view that the system used to assess dementia drugs must change if we have any hope of tackling this disease.
"Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer, and the leading cause of death for women. More than 75,000 people die from this disease every year – and yet we still don’t have either of the promising new treatments that have been approved in the past year available on the NHS.
"Donanemab is the second disease-modifying drug, after lecanemab, to be approved as safe. Both have been shown to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s disease by as much as two years in some cases.
"But we seem to be stuck in a vicious cycle where each time a new drug is assessed, the regulator states that the evidence provided by the company on how well the medicine works, along with how much it would cost to use it, was not strong enough.
"It is time to take a different approach to the way dementia drugs are assessed for NHS use – one that takes into account the sheer size and scale of this disease and the enormous impact it has on the lives of individuals, their families and carers.
"There is a special case to be made here for dementia treatments to be supported by alternative forms of funding from governments to get these treatments into the NHS and into the hands of those who need it most.
"In the same way that the Innovative Medicines Fund or Cancer Drugs Fund provide access to treatments deemed too costly for the NHS, we believe it is time to set up a Dementia Drugs Fund to finally tackle the UK’s biggest killer head-on."
If you have been affected by today’s decision and require support, please contact our 24 hour Freephone Dementia Helpline on 0808 808 3000 or by emailing [email protected]