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The MHRA on Wednesday granted a license for Eli Lilly’s new Alzheimer’s treatment, donanemab, for use in adults with mild cognitive impairment or mild
dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.

However, the drug will not be available on the NHS, as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) concluded that it “does not currently
demonstrate value for the NHS.”

The health spending watchdog explained that the costs of providing donanemab, including regular infusions and intensive monitoring for serious side effects,
outweigh the relatively small benefits it offers to patients, and so it “cannot currently be considered good value for the taxpayer.”

Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE, said: “For NICE to be able to approve a medicine for use in the NHS it must provide additional benefits to
patients, and it must also represent a good use of NHS resources and taxpayers’ money.

Donanemab (also called Kisunla) is a monoclonal antibody drug given by infusion (through a drip in the arm). It targets and reduces beta-amyloid proteins, whose
abnormal buildup is associated with Alzheimer’s disease.