FDA approves Eli Lilly Alzheimer’s drug, expanding treatment options in the U.S.

The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved Eli Lilly's Alzheimer's drug donanemab, expanding the limited treatment options for the mind-wasting disease in the U.S.

The agency approved the treatment, which will be sold under the brand name Kisunla, for adults with early symptomatic Alzheimer's disease, according to the company.

Nearly 7 million Americans have the condition, the fifth-leading cause of death for adults over 65, according to the Alzheimer's Association. By 2050, that group is projected to rise to almost 13 million in the U.S.

"This is real progress. Today's approval allows people more options and greater opportunity to have more time," said Joanne Pike, president and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association. "Having multiple treatment options is the kind of advancement we've all been waiting for — all of us who have been touched, even blindsided, by this difficult and devastating disease."

It's a long-awaited win for Eli Lilly after donanemab faced obstacles in its path to market. The FDA rejected the drug's approval last year due to insufficient data, then surprisingly delayed it again in March. Last month, an advisory panel to the agency recommended the treatment for full approval, saying the benefits outweigh its risks. 

Donanemab will compete head-to-head with another treatment from Biogen and its Japanese partner Eisai called Leqembi, which has gradually rolled out in the U.S. since it won approval last summer.

Donanemab and Leqembi are milestones in the treatment of Alzheimer's after three decades of failed efforts to develop medicines that can fight the fatal disease. Both drugs are monoclonal antibodies that target toxic plaques in the brain called amyloid, a hallmark of Alzheimer's, to slow the