Radar on Drug Benefits

Commercial Plans Are Likely to Approach New Alzheimer’s Drug With Caution

  • Jul 25

    Jul 25, 2024

    Although the approval of Kisunla (donanemab) earlier this month was celebrated by the Alzheimer’s Association as “real progress,” the challenge of getting commercial insurers to cover the drug will likely end up tempering that excitement.

    Eli Lilly’s Kisunla, which received full FDA approval on July 2, is a once-monthly, IV-infused treatment for people with early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, including mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia. Like the drug Leqembi (lecanemab), which received full approval last July, Kisunla aims to slow the progression of Alzheimer’s by removing amyloid plaques from the brain. (The naturally occurring protein amyloid can create plaques when clumped together, and if those plaques build up excessively in the brain, it may lead to memory and cognitive issues associated with Alzheimer's disease.)

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    • Leslie Small

    Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.

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Lauren Flynn Kelly

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Managing Editor, Radar on Specialty Pharmacy and Spotlight on Market Access

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Managing Editor, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits

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Reporter, Radar on Medicare Advantage and Spotlight on Market Access

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Reporter, Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits

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