CAMPAIGNERS called for a “dedicated dementia drug innovation fund” after new Alzheimer’s medication was rejected for use in NHS Scotland for a second time today.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC), which considers the use of new treatments by the NHS, once again concluded evidence of the cost effectiveness of donanemab – also known as Kisunla – was “not sufficient.”

Branding the decision “devastating for people living with dementia, their families and carers,” Alzheimer Scotland chief executive Henry Simmons said there was now an “urgent need for change in the system used to assess dementia drugs if we have any hope of tackling this disease.”

He said: “We would like to see a new element in the assessment process and that would be the introduction of dedicated pilot sites.

“These can be used to further test new promising treatments in meaningful clinical practice, before a decision on NHS provision is made.

“We need a dedicated dementia drug innovation fund to be set up in order to take this forward and properly test any new promising treatment.

“Dementia is the UK’s biggest killer and people living with this disease, their families and carers have been waiting decades for treatments that effectively slow its progression.

“We owe it to them to have an assessment process that gives promising new drugs a chance to show their true value and to realise their life-changing potential.”

SMC chairman Dr Scott Muir said: “Having considered all the evidence, the committee was still unable to accept donanemab for use in the NHS in Scotland.

“They felt that there remains uncertainty around what the modest clinical benefit means for patients and their families, and, in addition, the company’s evidence around its cost effectiveness was not sufficient.”