On July 6, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval to lecanemab (marketed as Leqembi™) to treat people in the earliest symptomatic stages of Alzheimer’s disease. This is the first disease-modifying therapy approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in the United States.
Lecanemab is now clinically available at UCSF for symptomatic patients in the early stages of the disease, who are seen at the Memory and Aging Center. UCSF is also participating in research on the potential benefits of lecanemab for preventing Alzheimer’s disease in asymptomatic individuals as part of the National Institutes of Health-funded AHEAD Study.