Health advisers on Friday unanimously backed the full approval of a closely watched Alzheimer’s drug, a key step toward opening insurance coverage to U.S. seniors with early stages of the brain-robbing disease.
The federal program provides health insurance for the vast majority of people with Alzheimer’s, and private insurers tend to follow its lead.
Facing pressure from Alzheimer’s advocates and patients, Medicare’s administrator, Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, has made clear the program will immediately begin covering the drug if it gets FDA’s full OK. The move was criticized by advocacy groups, including the Alzheimer’s Association, which has lobbied the federal government for months to begin paying a drug that they say could potentially help thousands of Americans.
But most FDA panelists said they were impressed by Eisai’s results, which they said showed significant differences in patients’ cognitive abilities and function, as well as reduced burden for caregivers.
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