Lundbeck Welcomes Revised Nice Recommendations For Alzheimer's Disease Treatments

Lundbeck, the maker of Ebixa® (memantine), welcomes the publication of final guidance on drug treatment for all stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE).1


This final Health Technology Appraisal represents a significant step forward for AD patients across England and Wales, finally providing them with access to appropriate treatment. NICE's recommendations must be funded by all PCTs within three months of publication.


One of the key changes in the new NICE recommendations is the inclusion of Ebixa®, which is recommended for people with severe AD and for people with moderate AD who are either contraindicated or intolerant to acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors.1 Ebixa and the AChE inhibitors should be initiated and supervised by a physician experienced in the diagnosis and treatment of AD.


Data shows Ebixa can improve symptoms of agitation, aggression and psychosis, and may reduce the need for antipsychotic prescribing in people with moderate to severe AD.2,3


Also in this guidance, NICE proposes the broader use of AChE inhibitors - donepezil HCL, rivastigmine, and galantamine to treat mild to moderate AD.1


AD is the most common form of the devastating illness, dementia, which currently affects approximately 820,000 people in the UK.4




About Ebixa
Ebixa is licensed for the treatment of moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease5
Ebixa is a voltage dependent, moderate affinity uncompetitive NMDA-receptor antagonist, with a mechanism of action that targets glutamatergic signalling in the brain5
Ebixa can improve symptoms of agitation, aggression and psychosis in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease2,3 and may reduce the need for psychotropic prescribing in these patients2
Data on the use of Ebixa in the agitation/aggression and/or psychotic symptom (APS) subgroup was specifically submitted to NICE for this re-review
Ebixa is easy to administer, and can be taken with or without food, either as tablets or oral solution. The recommended maintenance dose of Ebixa is 20mg once daily5
Ebixa is the most recently available anti-Alzheimer's disease drug to gain marketing authorisation in the UK and was launched in October 20026

About Dementia
More than 820,000 people are affected by dementia in the UK4
This figure is set to rise to more than 1,000,000 by 20257
One in three older people in the UK, over the age of 65, dies with dementia4
More than 60% of all care home residents in the UK have a form of dementia7
More than 15,000 people have early-onset dementia (under the age of 65)8
More than 11,500 people from black and minority ethnic groups in the UK are affected by dementia9
Dementia costs the UK ??17 billion per annum9
Carers of people with dementia save the UK around ??6 billion per annum9


References:

NICE Guidance Alzheimer's disease - donepezil, galantamine, rivastigmine and memantine for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (review of NICE technology appraisal guidance 111). Accessed March 2011 at: nice.uk
Gauthier S, et al. Improvement in behavioural symptoms in patients with moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease by memantine; a pooled data analysis. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry 2008:23;527-545
Fillit, H et al. Memantine discontinuation in nursing home residents with AD is associated with increased psychotropic drug use and decreased weight. 10th International Hong Kong/Springfield Pan-Asian Symposium on Advances in Alzheimer Therapy. Hong Kong 2008 (poster)
Alzheimer's Research Trust website: alzheimers-research.uk Accessed March 2011
Ebixa, Summary of Product Characteristics. Available at: medicines.uk/emc/document.aspx?documentId=10175 Accessed March 2011
EMEA European Public Assessment Report, 2009. Available at: emea.europa.eu/docs/en_GB/document_library/EPAR_-_Summary_for_the_public/human/000463/WC500058757.pdf. Accessed March 2011
The Alzheimer's Society website: alzheimers.uk/. Accessed March 2011
The use of antipsychotic medicine for people with dementia; time for action. A report for the Minister of State for Care Services by Professor Sube Banerjee. Available at: dh.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_108303 Accessed March 2011
Living well with dementia: A National Dementia Strategy, Department of Health, February 2009. Available at: dh.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/dh/en/documents/digitalasset/dh_094051.pdf. Accessed March 2011
Source
Lundbeck