LEQEMBI® to be launched in Japan for Alzheimer’s disease on December 20

Stockholm, Sweden, December 13, 2023 – BioArctic AB’s (publ) (Nasdaq Stockholm: BIOA B) partner Eisai announced that LEQEMBI (lecanemab) will be launched in Japan on December 20, following its scheduled inclusion in the price listing on the Japan National Health Insurance (NHI) drug price list.

LEQEMBI obtained manufacturing and marketing approval for the indication of slowing progression of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in Japan on September 25, 2023. In addition to inclusion in Japan’s NHI drug price list, the products Optimal Clinical Use Guidelines were agreed at a general meeting of the Central Social Insurance Medical Council, an advisory body of the Japanese Ministry of Heath, Labour and Welfare, held today. The launch, planned for December 20, will make Japan the second country to have the product on the market, following the U.S.

"This is a great Christmas present! Alzheimer's disease patients in Japan will now have access to the first disease modifying treatment. This gives hope for the large aging population in Japan with a great need for new treatment options," says Gunilla Osswald, CEO of BioArctic.

LEQEMBI selectively binds to soluble amyloid-beta (Aβ) aggregates (protofibrils[1]), as well as insoluble Aβ aggregates (fibrils) which are a major component of Aβ plaques, thereby reducing both Aβ protofibrils and Aβ plaques in the brain. LEQEMBI is the first and only approved treatment shown to reduce the rate of disease progression and to slow cognitive and functional decline through this mechanism.

Eisai will conduct a post-marketing special use results survey in all patients who are administered LEQEMBI (all-case surveillance) until data from a certain number of patients are accumulated, in accordance with an approval condition imposed by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. In addition, the appropriate use of LEQEMBI will be promoted in accordance with the package insert and the Optimal Clinical Use Guidelines, and training materials will be provided for healthcare professionals to assist with the management and monitoring of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA).

Eisai serves as the lead of LEQEMBI development and regulatory submissions globally with both Eisai and Biogen co-commercializing and co-promoting the product and Eisai having final decision-making authority. BioArctic has the right to commercialize lecanemab in the Nordic region, pending European approval, and currently Eisai and BioArctic are preparing for a joint commercialization in the region... BioArctic's Press Release - Eisai's Press Release- Biogen's Press Release -

JAMA Neurology Publishes Complete Results of Positive Phase 3 Study of REXULTI® (brexpiprazole) for Agitation Associated with Dementia Due to Alzheimer’s Disease

JAMA Neurology Publishes Complete Results of Positive Phase 3 Study of REXULTI® (brexpiprazole) for Agitation Associated with Dementia Due to Alzheimer’s Disease

New efficacy data reported for pivotal Study 213 shows significant, clinically meaningful improvements in agitation symptoms.

Agitation symptoms negatively impact functioning, disease progression, quality of life and care for about half of Alzheimer’s dementia patients – and are a consistent predictor of nursing home admission.

REXULTI® is the first drug approved by the FDA for agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.

November 06, 2023 - PRINCETON, N.J. & DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. (OPDC) and Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals LLC (Lundbeck) announce that treatment with REXULTI® (brexpiprazole) resulted in statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in adult patients with agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease, according to the complete results of the placebo-controlled pivotal phase 3 Study 213 (NCT03548584), published today in JAMA Neurology.1 In May 2023, brexpiprazole became the first and only drug to receive approval from the Food and Drug Administration for this indication. REXULTI is not indicated as an as needed (“prn”) treatment for agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.

Study 213 is the second pivotal phase 3 study, in addition to Study 283 (NCT01862640), to report positive efficacy and good tolerability for brexpiprazole, compared to a placebo, when used to treat patients with agitation associated with dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.2 The JAMA Neurology publication is the first to report the efficacy of brexpiprazole to significantly improve each of three classifications of agitation symptoms: aggressive behaviors, physically nonaggressive behavior and verbally agitated behavior... Otsuka and Lundbeck's Press Release -  TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03548584