CHARLOTTE, N.C. — For the first time in nearly two decades, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a medication for the treatment of Alzheimer's.
Dr. Mark Pippenger, a neurologist with Novant Health, spoke about the approval Tuesday. Pippenger explained that patients and their families have already started contacting him about the drug.
"I've already had about 20 patients, families contact us when they heard about the approval," Pippenger said.
The drug, aducanumab, will be marketed under the brand name Aduhelm. It's the first approved treatment to attack the disease process of Alzheimer's, rather than just treating dementia symptoms.
Development of the drug hasn't been without controversy, either.
"But the scientists gathered enough data that when they analyzed those," Pippenger said. "The drug does have a benefit, and then the company went back and filed for approval by the FDA."
The FDA approved the drug with a stipulation that yet another trial needs to be done About 6 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer's.
In the past, WCNC Charlotte anchor Sarah French spoke with both Katherine Fuchs and Ramona Holloway about their mothers' diagnoses.
Katherine's mother had Alzheimer's. Roman's mother suffers from dementia.
"It was devastating," Katherine said. "I wanted her to be that grandmother that would come play with my kids and be here as they aged."
"The hardest part of this is the slow goodbye," Ramona said.
Pippenger says a high dose of the drug is needed for a benefit and the benefit is small.
"We don't want people to think this is a cure and that it's going to fix everything," Pippenger said.
The drug is a monthly infusion, and Pippenger says he's hopeful.
"It is a significant step because it's a disease-modifying therapy," Pippenger said. "This drug is sort of like the tip of the spear, so this is hopefully the first in a series of drugs that we will start seeing because more is being invested and researched now."
The ideal candidate would be someone who has a diagnosis of mild cognitive impairment. The company, Biogen, has promised to ship the drug within a matter of weeks.
The list price would be $56,000 a year. Medicare has not said how it would cover the drug.
Contact Sarah French at Sarah@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter and Instagram.