Exclusive: Eisai expects 1,500 Alzheimer's patients in China launch, sees ‘huge’ growth

CHICAGO/SHANGHAI, Feb 4 (Reuters) - Japan’s Eisai (4523.T), opens new tab aims to roll out its groundbreaking Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi to 1,500 people in China later this year, but expects growth to accelerate significantly in 2025 as diagnosis methods change, a company spokesperson told Reuters.

More convenient Alzheimer's blood tests expected to be ready then could help Eisai reach a bigger share of China’s estimated 17 million people with early-stage disease, the spokesperson said.

“China is one of the fastest-aging countries in the world and is one of the most important countries in the area of Alzheimer’s disease for Eisai,” a company spokesperson said. “The potential growth for Leqembi in China is huge.”

Eli Lilly (LLY.N), opens new tab, which is developing a similar treatment called donanemab, told Reuters it has filed for approval in China. The Indianapolis-based company is now testing its drug in a 1,500-person trial with volunteers in China, Taiwan, South Korea and the EU, a spokesperson said.

The size of Eisai's planned China rollout and the filing of Lilly's approval application have not previously been reported.

Leqembi, which works by removing a toxic protein called beta amyloid from the brain, is the first Alzheimer's treatment proven to alter the course of the fatal, brain-wasting disease. China approved Leqembi in January.

Eisai and U.S. partner Biogen (BIIB.O), opens new tab have already rolled out Leqembi in the United States and Japan, and it is under review in Europe.

The treatment, ...
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