(Natasha O’Neill/ CTV News) — A breakthrough drug approved in the U.S. to treat Alzheimer’s could soon be available in Canada.
Health Canada started the approval process for drug lecanemab in May. The drug, also known by the brand name Leqembi, is for the treatment of Alzheimer’s itself – not just the symptoms. Currently, there is no way to prevent or cure the disease.
The drug was approved in the U.S. in early January, and since has shown positive outcomes, Cathy Barrick, CEO of the Alzheimer Society of Ontario, told CTV’s Your Morning on Friday.
“The results actually have been quite promising, and we’re very encouraged by it,” she said. “It actually targets the disease process itself, so when administered early on in the disease process, it can actually slow cognitive decline.”
According to the Alzheimer’s Association of Canada, about 747,000 Canadians are living with the disease or another type of dementia. In the coming decades, Health Canada expects this to increase. (…)