Kisunla, a newly approved Alzheimer's drug in Taiwan, would not be covered by the National Health Insurance (NHI) system, while coverage for Leqembi, another Alzheimer's treatment approved this year, is still under review, a health official overseeing the NHI system said yesterday.
Kisunla has already been reviewed by an expert panel, which concluded that although the drug has completed Phase 3 clinical trials, the follow-up period for users was too short and its long-term benefits remain unclear, National Health Insurance Administration Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said in a legislative session.
Given the drug's high cost and references to health technology agencies in the UK, Australia and Canada — none of which recommended it for coverage by public health insurance — the panel decided against recommending it for inclusion in the NHI system, Shih said.
Photo: CNA file photo
As for Leqembi, Shih said its application for NHI coverage was submitted last month and is currently under review.
The drug is to undergo a 45-day Health Technology Assessment (HTA) before being reviewed by an expert panel, with a decision expected early next year, he added.
Jointly developed by Eisai in Japan, Biogen in the US and BioArctic in Sweden, Leqmebi was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in July 2023, while Kisunla, developed by US pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, received a green light in July last year.
The two medications received approval from Food and Drug Administration earlier this year, but have not been covered by the NHI system, requiring patients to pay out of pocket for treatments that cost more than NT$1 million (US$33,398) per year.
An estimated 350,000 people in Taiwan have some form of dementia, 60 to 70 percent of whom have Alzheimer's disease, said Yan Sui-hing (甄瑞興), director of Far Eastern Memorial Hospital's dementia center.
Yan said about half of those with Alzheimer's may be eligible for the two new treatments, which target patients in the early stages of the disease, totaling fewer than 100,000 people.
Unlike previous medications, Kisunla and Leqembi are the first new treatments for Alzheimer's disease that target the underlying cause rather than just its symptoms, according to hospital, which administered the first dose of Kisunla in Taiwan on June 23.
In terms of expected outcomes, the complete elimination of amyloid plaques — which many researchers believe to be a key cause of Alzheimer's disease due to their abnormal accumulation in the brain — was seen in nearly 70 percent of patients within a year of receiving the two drugs, according to New Taipei Municipal Tucheng Hospital, one of the first hospitals in Taiwan to offer Leqembi.
Leqembi has the potential to slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease by 27 percent to 51 percent, while patients receiving Kisunla may see a 29 to 36 percent reduction in disease progression, the Tucheng Hospital added.
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