Leqembi: Alzheimer's drug launched in China

Eisai and Biogen have launched their Alzheimer’s treatment Leqembi in China, the third country after the United States and Japan, the companies said on Friday.

Leqembi, which works by removing a toxic protein called beta amyloid from the brain, is the first Alzheimer’s treatment proven to alter the course of the fatal, brain-wasting disease.

The drug will first be launched in the private market at 2,508 yuan ($345.04) for a 200 mg vial, the companies said in a statement.

Eisai has also collaborated with a major Chinese medical insurance firm to plan partial coverage of the drug cost, the companies said without naming the insurer.

China approved the treatment in January after a standard approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration last July.

More convenient Alzheimer’s blood tests expected to be ready by 2025 could help Eisai reach a bigger share of China’s estimated 17 million people with early-stage disease, a company spokesperson had told Reuters after approval in China.