WESTON (dpa-AFX) - The UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved donanemab, manufactured by Eli Lilly (LLY), to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.
Following this approval, the drug, marketed as Kisunla, can be prescribed privately in the country.
This is the second drug approved for Alzheimer's treatment in the country after Leqembi, developed by Eisai (ESALF.PK) and Biogen (BIIB).
However, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence or NICE argued that donanemab's benefits do not justify its high cost for the National Health Service.
According to Reuters, the drug costs about $32,000 for a 12-month treatment period in the U.S.
'There are significant uncertainties about how much benefit donanemab provides, and how long this lasts for after stopping treatment,' NICE said.
The health spending body further ruled that the drug would not be a good use of taxpayers' money as it is five to six times more expensive than what the NHS usually considers acceptable, BBC reports.
'This is just not enough benefit to justify the additional cost to the NHS,' said Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE.
'I know this will be disappointing news, but this is an emerging field of medicine and there are other treatments being developed.'
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