Keith Vossel, MD: US becomes first country in the world to approve breakthrough Alzheimer's drug lecanemab that slows symptoms by 27% and costs $27,000 a year

Dr. Keith Vossel

"US health officials today approved the first Alzheimer's drug proven to slow the condition - in what could be a breakthrough for millions of patients.

Lecanemab, which will be sold under the brand name Leqembi, instantly becomes the most effective treatment on the market after being given accelerated approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Friday.

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Dr Keith Vossel, a neurologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, told DailyMail.com the approval is a 'landmark' moment and has ushered the world into a 'new era' in the fight against Alzheimer's.

He does have some concerns about the drug, though.

Dr Vossel notes that only 30 percent of patients screened for the lecanemab clinical trial met the proper safety profile. 

In practice, this means that potentially only one-in-three early or middle-stage Alzheimer's patients will be eligible for the drug.

He fears that the medicine's label - which cautions against using blood thinners while taking lecanemab - is not detailed enough."

Read more in the Daily Mail.