MHRA licence donanemab for use in the UK. NICE publish draft guidance not recommending it for NHS use

Another of the new generation of drugs to treat Alzheimer’s disease, donanemab, has been licenced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) for prescription by doctors in Britain.

Read more about the MHRA decision here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/donanemab-licensed-for-early-stages-of-alzheimers-disease-in-adult-patients-who-have-one-or-no-copies-of-apolipoprotein-e4-gene

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), however, has published draft guidance for consultation not recommending donanemab for use on the NHS. NICE say:

“Our independent committee looked at all the available evidence, including the benefits for carers. This shows donanemab could slow down cognitive decline by 4-7 months, but this is just not enough benefit to justify the additional cost to the NHS. The cost-effectiveness estimate for donanemab is 5 to 6 times above what NICE normally considers an acceptable use of NHS resources.”

NICE say their next steps are as follows:

“The consultation on the draft NICE guidance on donanemab will close on 20 November 2024. The independent committee will consider all responses, including any additional analyses, at a second committee meeting before producing its final recommendations.”