Alzheimer’s Disease | Current Treatment: Physician Insights | US | 2024

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) affects cognition and may bring a spectrum of neuropsychiatric symptoms (e.g., agitation, aggression, psychosis) that intensify as the disease advances. Important new treatments reached the market in 2023, joining an array of modestly effective and largely generic procognitive options (e.g., acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, memantine). Eisai / Biogen’s Leqembi (lecanemab) is poised to unlock the as-yet unfulfilled potential of a disease-modifying therapy (DMT) for early AD, and Lundbeck / Otsuka’s Rexulti (brexpiprazole) is the first drug approved for AD agitation. This report will provide developers of new and emerging DMTs and neuropsychiatric treatments for AD with valuable insights into the patient characteristics driving or constraining eligibility for novel options. It will also delve into the path to diagnosis and treatment initiation in AD, as well as neurologists’ and PCPs’ prescribing practices and rationale.

Questions answered

• What percentage of AD patients suffer from comorbid behavioral conditions? What do neurologists prescribe to treat these symptoms?
• How has neurologists’ and PCPs’ prescribing changed in the past year? What changes are they anticipating in the coming year?
• How do PCPs and neurologists differ in their prescribing practices?
• What types of assessments are physicians completing at follow-up appointments after initiating Leqembi?
• Which biomarker tests are clinicians using, and how?
• What percentage of AD patients are on antipsychotics, and what is the patient share of individual therapies?
• What tools are physicians using to assess AD patients’ cognitive function?

Product description

Current Treatment: Physician Insights provides physician insights on treatment dynamics, prescribing behavior, and drivers of brand use so that marketers can create specific messaging around these treatment dynamics to more effectively increase or defend their market position.

Markets covered: United States

Primary research: Survey of 70 U.S. neurologists and 30 U.S. PCPs

Key drugs covered: Leqembi, Rexulti, Adlarity, donepezil, galantamine, memantine, Namzaric, rivastigmine, atypical antipsychotics, antidepressants

Key companies: Eisai / Biogen, Otsuka / Lundbeck, Corium, AbbVie

Key insights provided:

• Factors influencing disease management and treatment decisions.
• Drivers and constraints of treatment selection.
• Physician-reported treatment practices and brand-level patient shares.
• Rationale for changes in treatment approach.
• Physician insight on persistency and compliance.
• Physician-reported recent/anticipated changes in brand usage or treatment approach.