Biologic
UniProt P05067
Lecanemab
Leqembi
- Mechanism of action
- Amyloid-beta protofibril-directed antibody (mAb)
- In plain language
- A lab-made antibody that clears sticky amyloid-beta clumps from the brain, the buildup thought to drive Alzheimer's disease.
- How it works
- Lecanemab-irmb is a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody directed against aggregated forms of amyloid-beta, binding soluble protofibrils and insoluble fibrils rather than the monomeric peptide. Accumulation of amyloid-beta plaques in the brain is a defining pathological feature of Alzheimer's disease; treatment with lecanemab reduces plaque burden, as demonstrated by PET imaging in clinical trials. The FDA label does not specify the mechanism linking plaque reduction to clinical benefit — rather, it establishes the association: exposure-response modeling showed that higher lecanemab exposure was associated with both greater amyloid reduction and greater slowing of cognitive decline.
- Therapeutic applications
- Indicated for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Treatment should be initiated in patients with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia stage of disease, the population in which treatment was studied in clinical trials.
- Class
- Monoclonal antibody
- Therapeutic area
- Neurology
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