THE Health Secretary was urged today to help the NHS get “fit for the future of dementia” after it emerged that a drug shown to slow Alzheimer’s may not be available on the NHS because of its cost.

Trials found that the drug Lecanemab could slow cognitive decline in early-stage Alzheimer’s patients by 27 per cent over 18 months.

Though approved by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the healthcare spending watchdog gave a provisional decision denying access to the treatment on the NHS. 

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said the drug’s benefits were “just too small to justify” the cost.

The body estimated the treatment, which would have benefited around 70,000 people, would amount to about £19,000 per patient per year.

Alzheimer’s Research UK wrote to Mr Streeting urging him to step in and “help the NHS be fit for the future of dementia.”

It said that while the benefits are modest, the new licence reflects “great strides” made in research and “moves us a step closer to a world free from the harm and heartbreak of dementia.”

“Your leadership in bringing together key stakeholders is needed to help enable fast and equitable access to a new generation of treatments,” it said.

Alzheimer’s Society chief policy and research officer Fiona Carragher said it was disappointing that Nice had not recommended approving the drug, which will now only be available to private patients.

“We respect the decisions regulators have made; however, we know these announcements will bring a mix of emotions for those who have been waiting a long time since the promising trial results were first announced,” she said.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said that the government was “committed to continuing to expand research and innovation in this area” and that it will work with the NHS and Nice to “make treatments available as and when they’re ready.”

The first dementia treatment to be licenced in more than 20 years, Lecanemab has already been approved in the US, Japan, China and South Korea. 

But last month the European Medicines Agency (EMA) rejected the licence, citing risks such as bleeding and swelling in the brain.

A public consultation on the draft guidance by Nice will be open until September 20.