Treatment now available for people in England and Wales with mild Alzheimer's at time of diagnosis

Alzheimer’s patients in England and Wales can now be prescribed treatment when presenting with mild stages of the disease. New guidance from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), which was announced last year (The Pharma Letter January 18) came into effect yesterday, marking a significant change to an earlier 2007 ruling which restricted access to medication for patients with moderate disease only.

The guidance recommends three Alzheimer’s disease medications belonging to a class of drugs known as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors, including Japanese drug major Eisai’s Aricept (donepezil), UK drugmaker Shire’s Reminyl (galantamine) and Swiss major Novartis’ Exelon (rivastigmine), be made available for mild, as well as moderate disease. It also recommends the use of memantine (Danish drugmaker Lundbeck’s Ebixa) for severe disease and for some patients with moderate disease.

“This is a milestone for people with Alzheimer’s disease, their families, carers and society as the new ruling means that crucial treatment can be given earlier thereby helping to reduce the impact of the disease at a much earlier stage”, says Craig Ritchie from the Department of Psychological Medicine, Imperial College London, Honorary Consultant and R&D Director, West London Mental Health Trust.