4 ms·
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
by avgDev 3y ago
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?
- sonicshadow 3y ago> 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. The FDA has already put into place an accelerated approval process for this explicit purpose. The alternative is that rare diseases are too expensive/time-consuming to develop cures for, and drug companies exclusively focus on popular/easy-to-treat illnesses (more so than today). Neither world is great, but at least we get a better variety of drugs in this world. Open to better ideas still.
- nunuvit 3y agoI think it's probably fine. It adds options for those who would rather die fighting. The exact placement of the line the FDA draws for approval doesn't align perfectly with everyone's values and situation, so there should be a little wiggle room.