Pittsburgh non-profit excited about new FDA approved Alzheimer’s drug

PITTSBURGH — For the first time in 20 years, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s.

Families will have more time to attend another graduation or a wedding that they might not have been able to before.

Sara Murphy knows what it’s like to have family members suffer from Alzheimer’s disease firsthand.

Several people in her family had the disease. She’s now the vice president of programs and services of the Greater Pennsylvania Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association.

“This is the first FDA-approved drug on the market that’s actually looking at the underlying biology of Alzheimer’s disease, not just the symptoms, but slowing the progression for individuals living with mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s and early stages of Alzheimer’s,” Murphy said.

The FDA made the approval despite warnings from independent advisers that the treatment hasn’t been shown to slow the disease.

Now the FDA is requiring Biogen, the drugmaker, to do follow-up studies.

The FDA could pull the drug if the studies fail to show effectiveness — but for now, it’s approved, which is a win for Murphy.

“The fact that three is an opportunity for folks to talk to talk to their healthcare provider about this and what it would Look like for them, that’s a big deal,” she said.

Health care experts say they expect insurance agencies to offer broad coverage of the drug.

The drug, made by Biogen Inc. and called aducanumab, would be the first treatment in decades to be approved for use by patients of the mind-wasting disease.

However, possible approval of aducanumab has sparked debate. Those who want to see the drug approved for use point to the fact that the treatment is the first designed to slow the course of Alzheimer’s disease rather than treat symptoms of the disease.

Those who oppose the approval of the drug point to its cost, its safety record and the question of whether the drug can provide a meaningful benefit to a patient.

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