Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what discussions they have had with (1) the NHS, (2) NICE, and (3) MHRA, to ensure that NHS patients can access licensed treatments for Alzheimer's disease.

Department officials have had a number of conversations with colleagues in NHS England, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency to discuss the progress of key regulatory decisions and the National Health Service's preparations for the adoption of any licensed and NICE recommended treatment for Alzheimer’s disease.

The NICE is currently developing guidance for the NHS on the use of several potential new medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, as well as currently consulting on its draft guidance on the use of lecanemab. The NICE has determined that the benefits of this first new treatment are just too small to justify the significant cost to the NHS. These are very difficult decisions to make, and it is right that they are taken independently, and on the basis of the available evidence of costs and benefits. We understand how disappointing the NICE’s draft guidance will be to all those affected, but we need to make sure that the finite resources of the NHS are only spent on treatments that are clinically and cost effective, to ensure patient and taxpayer benefit. The NICE’s draft recommendations are now open to consultation, and the NICE will take the comments received fully into account in developing its final guidance.

Lecanemab is the first disease modifying treatment for Alzheimer’s disease with a marketing approval in Great Britain, and to ensure the health system is prepared for future advances in treatments, a dedicated NHS England team is already looking ahead to 27 other treatments which are currently in advanced clinical trials, that could potentially be approved by 2030.