The Central Social Insurance Medical Council, an advisory body to the health minister, on the 6th approved a price of about ¥2.82 million per patient per year for the subcutaneous injectable form of lecanemab, a treatment for mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia caused by Alzheimer's disease.
Lecanemab is designed to slow the progression of Alzheimer's in its early stages. The council's approval sets what Japan's public health insurance will pay for the under-the-skin version, a formulation that patients can receive outside a clinic infusion setting.
The figure puts the drug among Japan's most expensive outpatient treatments, and its approval comes as the country's aging population pushes dementia care costs higher. How the national insurance system absorbs drugs at this price, and how many patients qualify for them, will shape access in the years ahead.
The council's decision is a formal step in the pricing process for the subcutaneous form. The source does not say when the product will reach patients or how coverage will be limited.