Alzheimer's Disease

(asked on 27th April 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people had Alzheimer's disease in the last year for which figures are available; and what the cost of their medication was in that year.


Answered by
Caroline Dinenage Portrait
Caroline Dinenage
This question was answered on 8th May 2018

The Department does not hold figures on the number of people with Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is estimated that approximately 850,000 people in the United Kingdom have the condition.

Drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease are classified under section 4.11 of the British National Formulary (BNF), Drugs for Dementia. These drugs are Donepezil, Galantamine, Rivastigmine and Memantine. NHS Prescription Services, who provide data on dispensing of National Health Service prescriptions, add the unlicensed drug Idebenone. These drugs are all included in the following table, which gives details of these drugs where they have been dispensed in the community in England in 2017.

Since drugs can be prescribed to treat more than one condition, it is not possible to separate the different conditions for which a drug may have been prescribed. Rivastigmine is also licensed for dementia associated with Parkinson’s disease. Idebenone has been used for stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and other indications.

BNF Section Code

BNF Section Name

Net Ingredient Cost (NIC)*

4.11

Drugs for Dementia

£28,187,845

Source: Prescription Cost Analysis

Note:

*This is the basic cost of a drug as used in primary care. This is the cost at list price excluding VAT, i.e. the price listed in the national Drug Tariff or in standard price lists and is not necessarily the price the NHS paid. It does not take into account any contract prices or discounts, dispensing costs, fees or prescription charge income, so the amount the NHS paid will be different. NIC is used in Prescription Services reports and other analyses, as it standardises cost throughout prescribing nationally, and allows comparisons of data from different sources. The figures are in pounds.

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