from Hacker News

FDA fully approves first drug to slow down Alzheimer's disease

by L_226 on 7/7/23, 10:41 AM with 8 comments

• by avgDev on 7/7/23, 3:19 PM

  I am not sure how to feel about this. The drug costs $27k a year.

  "In studies reviewed by the FDA, Leqembi appeared to slow declines in memory and thinking by about 27% after 18 months of treatment. It also dramatically reduced the sticky beta-amyloid plaques that tend to build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer's."

  There are life-threatening side effects. Although, the diseases is awful itself and I would probably choose death.

  However, this drug had an accelerated approval. This makes me a bit uneasy. It signals to drug companies that they can pick any terminal illness, develop a drug for it, show minimal efficacy, and get quick approval even if the side effects are deadly. In the end they profit.

  Will this lead to more drugs? Faster scientific research? Or higher profits for the drug companies?

• by peterlk on 7/7/23, 3:01 PM

  > In January, the drug received what's known as accelerated approval from the FDA, based on its ability to remove the substance beta-amyloid from the brains of people in the early stages of Alzheimer's.

  Whenever beta-amyloids come up, I recall that they seem to be quite divisive. Can someone explain to me what the debate is about? The FDA appears to believe that they are a cause of Alzheimer’s based on this drug’s approval