{"id":4393,"date":"2025-05-29T06:17:32","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T06:17:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/?p=4393"},"modified":"2025-05-29T06:18:00","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T06:18:00","slug":"drug-donanemab-for-early-alzheimers-now-approved-in-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/retirement\/drug-donanemab-for-early-alzheimers-now-approved-in-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"Drug Donanemab for early Alzheimer\u2019s now approved in Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"4393\" class=\"elementor elementor-4393\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-65396a6 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"65396a6\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4461feb\" data-id=\"4461feb\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f97fecd elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f97fecd\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>A <strong>new treatment that could slow the progression of early Alzheimer\u2019s disease has been approved for use in Australia. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has given the green light to Donanemab, a medication already approved in several countries including the United States, where it\u2019s marketed as Kisunla.<\/strong><\/p><p>The approval follows a major clinical trial published in 2023 involving 1,736 participants. The study showed Donanemab significantly slowed disease progression in people with either early-stage Alzheimer\u2019s or mild cognitive impairment linked to Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p><p><strong>How does Donanemab work?<\/strong><\/p><p>Alzheimer\u2019s is the most common cause of dementia, accounting for around 70% of cases. It\u2019s believed to be caused by the build-up of two abnormal proteins in the brain: amyloid and tau.<\/p><p>Donanemab is a monoclonal antibody that targets amyloid. By binding to amyloid plaques in the brain, it helps the body clear them out. The treatment is delivered via monthly intravenous infusions.<\/p><p><strong>Who can access the drug?<\/strong><\/p><p>Not everyone with Alzheimer\u2019s will be eligible. Under the TGA\u2019s approval, patients must first undergo testing to confirm high levels of amyloid in the brain \u2013 either through a PET scan or lumbar puncture.<\/p><p>Additionally, people with two copies of the ApoE4 gene, who are at increased risk of side effects, are excluded. This group makes up about 2% of the general population, but 15% of people with Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p><p><strong>The cost challenge<\/strong><\/p><p>The major hurdle for many patients is the cost, which is estimated between $40,000 and $80,000 per year. This does not include the additional medical expenses related to scans and doctor visits needed to monitor treatment.<\/p><p>Pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly has applied to have Donanemab listed on Australia\u2019s Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS). If approved, the drug would become much more affordable \u2013 but at a high cost to the public purse. A decision on this is expected within the next few months.<\/p><p><strong>Not a cure \u2013 but a step forward<\/strong><\/p><p>Experts are quick to stress that Donanemab is not a cure. It can slow down the disease in its early stages, but it won\u2019t reverse damage or stop Alzheimer\u2019s altogether.<\/p><p>With over 400,000 Australians currently living with dementia, and only 13% receiving a diagnosis within a year of symptoms, there are calls for better access to early diagnostic services. That\u2019s because treatments like Donanemab work best early \u2013 long before symptoms become severe.<\/p><p>This approval marks a promising development in the fight against Alzheimer\u2019s. But with access, cost, and early diagnosis still significant hurdles, there\u2019s more work ahead to make new treatments truly impactful.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new treatment that could slow the progression of early Alzheimer\u2019s disease has been approved for use in Australia. The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) has given the green light to Donanemab, a medication already approved in several countries including the United States, where it\u2019s marketed&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retirement"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4393"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4393\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4399,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4393\/revisions\/4399"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}