A group of senior dementia specialists in Britain has called on the government to approve two new Alzheimer’s drugs for use on the National Health Service (NHS), despite previous evaluations deeming the treatments too costly to justify routine prescription. The experts, numbering 38 and including notable figures such as Professor Alistair Burns, a former national clinical director for dementia, addressed a letter to Health Secretary Yvette Cooper urging reconsideration of the decision.
The drugs in question, lecanemab and donanemab, target the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease by removing toxic amyloid proteins from the brain, which are believed to contribute to cognitive decline. Clinical trials have shown that lecanemab may slow memory deterioration by up to 27 percent over an 18-month period. Both treatments, administered intravenously, received regulatory approval in Britain in 2024 but were subsequently rejected for NHS funding by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) in June 2025 due to concerns over their high cost.
Currently, the drugs are available only through private purchase, with costs reaching approximately £60,000 annually per patient. In March 2026, NICE announced plans to re-examine the evidence following an appeal by the drugs’ manufacturer, Lilly. The appeal success has prompted a fresh assessment of the treatments’ clinical and cost-effectiveness.
The group of dementia experts argued that the guidance provided to government ministers by NHS England health chiefs did not fully reflect the clinical potential of the medicines. They described those views as based on “limited” input from clinicians actively treating patients, suggesting a need for broader consultation and consideration of the drugs’ benefits within memory clinics.
NICE’s original stance highlighted the balance between clinical effectiveness and affordability within the NHS framework, emphasizing the challenges of adopting high-cost therapies for chronic conditions without clear evidence of sustained long-term benefit. The ongoing evaluation aims to weigh this alongside emerging data and expert recommendations.
While the drugs represent a significant advancement in Alzheimer’s treatment by addressing disease mechanisms rather than only symptoms, debate continues over their value relative to their price. Policymakers face the task of determining whether the potential improvements in slowing cognitive decline justify the financial outlay required to make the therapies widely accessible through the NHS.