The company expects to reach 90% of its target for integrated delivery networks (IDNs) used to administer the drug in the U.S. in the fiscal year ending this month, its CEO stated.
Tag Archive for: Eisai
During yesterday’s third-quarter fiscal year 2023 earnings report, Eisai revealed that the launch of its Biogen-partnered Alzheimer’s disease treatment Leqembi (lecanemab) has not been going according to plan, making the company’s goal of treating 10,000 patients by the end of March 2024 appear out of reach.
The two companies are preparing to launch the drug in the second quarter of Eisai’s 2024/25 business year starting in April.
Intravenous treatment of the drug, co-developed with U.S. partner Biogen (BIIB.O), will cost about 2.98 million yen ($20,438) per patient per year.
For the second time in as many days, Merck has reported a Phase III failure for its blockbuster PD-1 inhibitor Keytruda, this time as a first-line treatment with Eisai’s Lenvima for cancer in the uterus lining.
In its second-quarter earnings report for fiscal year 2023, Eisai touted a sharp increase in the number of patients being treated with its Alzheimer’s disease therapy Leqembi (lecanemab).
The company said the launch of Leqembi in the United States was progressing as planned and that 10,000 patients were expected to be on the drug by the end of March 2024.
Subcutaneous injections of Eisai and Biogen’s Leqembi lead to numerically greater amyloid removal than the intravenous version of the Alzheimer’s disease therapy, though risks of brain swelling and bleeding remain.
The development comes after a health ministry panel recommended the drug’s approval in August, followed by standard approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in July.
The pairing of Merck’s blockbuster immunotherapy Keytruda and Eisai’s Lenvima has previously failed in studies evaluating it in patients with types of head-and-neck cancer, skin cancer and colon cancer as well.