European medicines watchdog rejects new Alzheimers drug [Video]

Europe’s medicines watchdog on Friday rejected a marketing request for a new Alzheimer’s disease treatment, saying the risks of the medicine’s side effects, including potential brain bleeding, outweighed the benefits.

The decision by the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency was met with dismay, but experts said effective treatment for the degenerative mental disease affecting millions in Europe alone, was getting closer.

“The CHMP recommended not granting a marketing authorisation for Leqembi, a medicine intended for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease,” the European Medicines Agency said, referring to its committee for evaluating drugs for human use.

Leqembi, which was developed by US multinational Biogen and Japanese-based Eisai, is the brand name of an active substance called lecanemab, which is used to treat adults with mild memory and cognitive problems resulting from the early stages of the common type of dementia.

But the CHMP said “the observed effect of Leqembi on delaying cognitive …