Relief at last for Alzheimer’s patients

After almost two decades, people with Alzheimer’s can now breathe a sigh of relief.

This comes after America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new Alzheimer’s drug, aducanumab, a product of US based big pharma, Biogen.

Previously, no drugs could slow the mental decline associated with Alzheimer’s, a type of dementia that causes problems with memory, thinking and behaviour.

Symptoms usually develop gradually and worsen over time. They become severe enough to interfere with daily tasks, according to Alzheimer’s and Dementia Organisation Kenya, which was founded in 2016.

Dr George Njoroge, the chief scientific adviser at Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital, says that considering healthcare providers do not usually look for the disease in younger people, getting an accurate diagnosis of early onset Alzheimer’s can be a long and frustrating process.

The FDA approval makes aducanumab, marketed under the name Aduhelm, the first medication to be held high by US regulators to slow cognitive decline in people with Alzheimer’s in a long time.

The Massachusetts-based biotechnology company also announced that the drug’s price is about ($56,000) Sh6 million annually and Sh465,000 per infusion.

“We feel a great sense of purpose and responsibility to turn the hope of today’s FDA approval of Aduhelm into a reality for people living with Alzheimer’s disease and their families,” said Alisha Alaimo, the president of Biogen US.

“We are committed to access and health equity as top priorities and will continue working with multiple stakeholders with the goal of helping patients who may benefit from treatment obtain care as quickly as possible.”

Ivan Cheung, the chairman of Eisai Inc said Aduhelm would renew patients’ hope. “It is critically important for Eisai and Biogen to not only establish these access programmes, but to champion their reach, especially in underserved patient communities,” he said.

Clinical trial

FDA, however, assured that it will continue to monitor the drug as it reaches the US market and had granted approval on the condition that Biogen conduct another clinical trial.

In a televised interview, Biogen CEO Michel Vounatsos said he thought the drug’s price was “fair” but also vowed that the company would not hike its price for four years.

“It is a reflection of two decades of no innovation and will also allow the company to further invest in its pipeline of drugs for other diseases,” the CEO added.

In Kenya, and Africa generally, information on Alzheimer’s disease is very limited, if not outdated.

According to a study done at UK’s University of Stirling, as of 2010 the overall prevalence of dementia in adults older than 50 years in Africa was estimated to be about 2.4 per cent, that is 2.8 million people living with dementia.

“Kenya has very few healthcare providers for neurological diseases including dementia for the growing population and her healthcare system is under developed in comparison to the UK one,” says the study.

While dementia is a general term for a decline in mental ability severe enough to interfere with one’s daily life, Alzheimer’s is the most common cause of dementia. Simply put, Alzheimer’s is a specific disease, dementia is not.

People with dementia in the country have a number of challenges. “There is lack of awareness and understanding of dementia, lack of diagnosis or misdiagnosis of old age illnesses and stigma with assumptions of witchcraft or a curse from God,” the study highlights.

Manual for elderly

Those suffering from the disease face abandonment and isolation by their communities and caregivers.

This may be aided by the fact that there are no tangible government policies, legislations and services as well as statistics and data on the number of people affected by dementia.

Dr Muthoni Gichu, a geriatrician and the head of Health and Ageing Division at the Health ministry, however, reveals that Kenya will soon be launching a health strategy for the elderly, a national dementia action plan, a community manual for ageing people, a volunteer’s manual and a geriatric treatment action plan.

“We need to deal with ageism for both younger and older people. For it to happen, we need more awareness that reminds everyone ageing is not a disease.

We need to empower older people so that they are able to access healthcare in a system that is responsive to them in terms of strategy and clinical guidelines,” she tells HealthyNation.

World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is marked on June 15. “The Labour ministry will be launching an older person’s rescue centre in Kirinyaga,” she adds.

She is equally elated at the news of a new Alzheimer’s drug in the US. “The drug is a necessity knowing where we have come from and considering it is being used to delay the progression of the condition. The only two questions at this moment are how soon will it get to this part of the world because Biogen is still trying to penetrate the European market with the product and how much will it cost when it arrives?” poses Dr Gichu.