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FDA approves Alzheimer’s drug lecanemab amid safety concerns

Reports of deaths potentially linked to the treatment have cast a shadow on what many hail as a landmark approval.
  1. Sara Reardon
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The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved lecanemab, the second-ever treatment for Alzheimer’s disease that is intended to tackle the root of the condition and the slow cognitive decline that results. Researchers welcome the decision, but their excitement is clouded by reports of patient deaths and that the FDA acted improperly last year when approving the first drug of this kind.

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Nature 613, 227-228 (2023)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-023-00030-3

Updates & Corrections

  • Correction 10 January 2023: An earlier version of this story indicated that the Alzheimer’s Association is based in Washington DC. It is based in Chicago, Illinois.

References

  1. Van Dyck, C. H. et al. N. Engl. J. Med. 388, 9–21 (2023).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Swanson, C. J. et al. Alz. Res. Ther. 13, 80 (2021).

    Article  Google Scholar 

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