According to the CDC, approximately six million Americans are living with Alzheimer's disease, but access to experimental, potentially life-saving drugs is limited. For impacted veterans, the Veterans Health Administration is looking for ways to provide that access.
Last year, Biogen, in partnership with Japanese drug company Eisai, announced that the drug called Leqembi showed promise in slowing cognitive decline in Alzaheimer's patients by 27 percent. The VHA announced it will shell out more than $26,000 annually for each veteran on Leqembi. If the FDA grants a full approval by July 6, Medicare and Medicaid services said it would immediately provide broad coverage of the drug to customers.
The experimental treatment received Accelerated Approval by the Food and Drug administration earlier this year. The specific pathway to approval had been introduced by the agency to provide speedier clearance on drugs that treat serious conditions.
Last month the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services declined to provide unrestricted coverage of the drug because "there is not yet evidence meeting the criteria for reconsideration."
"This standard differs from the criteria used by the FDA to assess whether medications are safe and effective. We are aware that additional publications may be forthcoming that include information relevant to the questions included in the current NCD," the agency added in its statement.
A Japanese company's attempt to land a spacecraft on the moon has apparently failed. Flight controllers lost contact Wednesday with the lander after it descended from lunar orbit, aiming for the dusty surface.
The Supreme Court on Friday preserved women’s access to a drug used in the most common method of abortion, rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues.
Peter Krull, a partner and director of sustainable investing at Prime Capital Investment Advisors company Earth Equity Advisors, joined Cheddar News to give some tips on green investments.
The Supreme Court is facing a self-imposed Friday night deadline to decide whether women’s access to a widely used abortion pill will stay unchanged until a legal challenge to its Food and Drug Administration approval is resolved.
Sam Rose, an activist with Truth Initiative and a former e-cigarette user, joined Cheddar News to speak about his experience with purchasing flavored tobacco products and his group's message to other teens to stay wary.
Under a cloudless sky, 20,000 eclipse chasers crowded a tiny outpost to watch a rare solar eclipse plunge part of Australia's northwest coast into brief midday darkness Thursday while temporarily cooling the tropical heat.
