New data for Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's treatment donanemab is a big win for patients and their families after decades of disappointments. Perhaps as important, it will help overcome the field's next challenge: getting insurers to pay for the drugs.
Lilly's experimental drug works by clearing away the amyloid plaques known to coat the brains of people with Alzheimer's. Monthly infusions slowed the relentless cognitive decline in Alzheimer's by 35% during the 18-month study of people in the early stages of the disease.