Eisai welcomes NICE ruling on Alzheimer’s drugs

Eisai has welcomed a new ruling from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) which could make it easier for Alzheimer's patients to access treatments at an early stage.

The healthcare regulator has issued draft guidance which recommends that dementia drugs such as Eisai's Aricept should be made available to sufferers of mild to moderate disease in England and Wales.

This represents a turnaround on its previous ruling to only provide patients with moderate Alzheimer's with access to these treatments, with final guidance on the subject expected to be published in 2011.

Eisai said the decision is consistent with the Department of Health's new National Dementia Strategy and allows clinicians to manage Alzheimer's more rigorously early on, decreasing the burden on patients and the health system.

The firm added: "After a five-year battle, the latest recommendation will once again allow patients to get the treatment they need right from the early stages, when they need it most."

Last month, Eisai agreed a deal with Anaeropharma Science to jointly research and develop a potentially promising Bifidobacterium longum-based treatment for cancer.