Eisai and Biogen Announce Canada’s Drug Agency Final Recommendation Supporting Public Reimbursement of LEQEMBI for Eligible Early Alzheimer’s Disease Patients

TOKYO and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Aug. 31, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eisai Co., Ltd. and Biogen Inc. (Nasdaq: BIIB), announced today that Canada’s Drug Agency (CDA-AMC) has issued a final recommendation supporting public reimbursement of LEQEMBI ^® (lecanemab) for eligible patients in Canada living with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease (early AD).

The final recommendation follows a reconsideration by CDA-AMC and is an important step toward access to LEQEMBI. Next steps include negotiations through the pan-Canadian Pharmaceutical Alliance (pCPA), followed by individual reimbursement decisions by public drug plans in Canada’s provinces and territories.

More than 770,000 people in Canada were estimated to be living with dementia in 2025, and the number of people living with dementia in Canada is projected to increase to 1.7 million by 2050.¹

Eisai serves as the lead for lecanemab’s development and regulatory submissions globally, with Eisai and Biogen co-commercializing and co-promoting the product and Eisai having final decision-making authority.

Notes to Editors

1. About lecanemab (generic name, brand name: LEQEMBI ^® )
   Lecanemab is the result of a strategic research alliance between Eisai and BioArctic. It is a humanized immunoglobulin gamma (IgG1) monoclonal antibody directed against aggregated soluble (protofibril) and insoluble forms of amyloid-beta (Aβ).
   
   Lecanemab has been approved in 53 countries and regions including Japan, the U.S., China, Europe, South Korea, Taiwan, and Saudi Arabia, and is under regulatory review in 6 countries. Following the initial phase with treatment every two weeks for 18 months, intravenous (IV) maintenance dosing with treatment every four weeks is approved in 8 countries including the U.S., China, the UK, and others, and applications have been filed in 12 countries and regions. The U.S. FDA approved Eisai’s Biologics License Application (BLA) for subcutaneous maintenance dosing with LEQEMBI IQLIK in August 2025. For subcutaneous initiation treatment (500 mg), approval was obtained in the United States in July 2026, and applications are under review in four countries, including Japan and China. In China, the application has been granted Priority Review designation. Since December 2025, lecanemab (IV) has been included in the “Commercial Insurance Innovative Drug List,” recently introduced by the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) of China.
   
   Since July 2020 the Phase 3 clinical study (AHEAD 3-45) for individuals with preclinical AD, meaning they are clinically normal and have intermediate or elevated levels of amyloid in their brains, is ongoing. AHEAD 3-45 is conducted as a public-private partnership between the Alzheimer's Clinical Trial Consortium that provides the infrastructure for academic clinical trials in AD and related dementias in the U.S, funded by the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, Eisai and Biogen. Since January 2022, the Tau NexGen clinical study for Dominantly Inherited AD (DIAD), that is conducted by Dominantly Inherited Alzheimer Network Trials Unit (DIAN-TU), led by Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, is ongoing and includes lecanemab as the backbone anti-amyloid therapy.
   
2. About Protofibrils
   Protofibrils are thought to be the most toxic Aβ species that contribute to brain damage in AD and play a major role in the cognitive decline of this progressive and devastating disease. Protofibrils can cause neuronal and synaptic damage in the brain, which can subsequently adversely affect cognitive function through multiple mechanisms. ² The mechanism by which this occurs has been reported not only by increasing the formation of insoluble Aβ plaques, but also by directly damaging signaling between neurons and other cells. It is believed that reducing protofibrils may reduce neuronal damage and cognitive impairment, potentially preventing the progression of AD. ³
   
3. About the Collaboration between Eisai and Biogen for AD
   Eisai and Biogen have been collaborating on the joint development and commercialization of AD treatments since 2014. Eisai serves as the lead of lecanemab development and regulatory submissions globally with both companies co-commercializing and co-promoting the product and Eisai having final decision-making authority.
   
4. About the Collaboration between Eisai and BioArctic for AD
   Since 2005, Eisai and BioArctic have had a long-term collaboration regarding the development and commercialization of AD treatments. Eisai obtained the global rights to study, develop, manufacture and market lecanemab for the treatment of AD pursuant to an agreement with BioArctic in December 2007. The development and commercialization agreement on the antibody lecanemab back-up was signed in May 2015.
   
5. About Eisai Co., Ltd.
   Eisai's Corporate Concept is "to give first thought to patients and people in the daily living domain, and to increase the benefits that health care provides." Under this Concept (also known as human health care ( hhc ) Concept), we aim to effectively achieve social good in the form of relieving anxiety over health and reducing health disparities. With a global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to create and deliver innovative products to target diseases with high unmet medical needs, with a particular focus in our strategic areas of Neurology and Oncology.
   
   In addition, we demonstrate our commitment to the elimination of neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), which is a target (3.3) of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by working on various activities together with global partners.
   
   For more information about Eisai, please visit www.eisai.com (for global headquarters: Eisai Co., Ltd.), and connect with us on X , LinkedIn and Facebook . The website and social media channels are intended for audiences outside of the UK and Europe. For audiences based in the UK and Europe, please visit www.eisai.eu and Eisai EMEA LinkedIn .
   
6. About Biogen
   Founded in 1978, Biogen is a leading biotechnology company that pioneers innovative science to deliver new medicines to transform patient’s lives and to create value for shareholders and our communities. We apply deep understanding of human biology and leverage different modalities to advance first-in-class treatments or therapies that deliver superior outcomes. Our approach is to take bold risks, balanced with return on investment to deliver long-term growth.
   
   The company routinely posts information that may be important to investors on its website at www.biogen.com . Follow Biogen on social media – Facebook , LinkedIn , X , YouTube .
   
   Biogen Safe Harbor
   This news release contains forward-looking statements, including about the potential benefits, safety and efficacy of LEQEMBI (lecanemab); access to LEQEMBI for eligible patients in Canada; potential regulatory discussions, submissions and approvals and the timing thereof; the treatment of Alzheimer's disease; the anticipated benefits and potential of Biogen's collaboration arrangements with Eisai; the potential of Biogen's commercial business and pipeline programs, including lecanemab; and risks and uncertainties associated with drug development and commercialization. These forward-looking statements may be accompanied by such words as “aim,” “anticipate,” “assume,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “guidance,” “hope,” “intend,” “may,” “objective,” “plan,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “prospect,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and other words and terms of similar meaning. Drug development and commercialization involve a high degree of risk, and only a small number of research and development programs result in commercialization of a product. Results in early-stage clinical trials may not be indicative of full results or results from later stage or larger scale clinical trials and do not ensure regulatory approval. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. Given their forward-looking nature, these statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that may be based on inaccurate assumptions and could cause actual results to differ materially from those reflected in such statements.
   
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References

1. Alzheimer Society of Canada. "Dementia numbers in Canada". Available at: https://alzheimer.ca/en/about-dementia/what-dementia/dementia-numbers-canada . Last accessed: August 20, 2026.
2. Amin L, Harris DA. Aβ receptors specifically recognize molecular features displayed by fibril ends and neurotoxic oligomers. Nat Commun. 2021;12:3451. doi:10.1038/s41467-021-23507-z
3. Ono K, Tsuji M. Protofibrils of Amyloid-β are Important Targets of a Disease-Modifying Approach for Alzheimer's Disease. Int J Mol Sci. 2020;21(3):952. doi: 10.3390/ijms21030952. PMID: 32023927; PMCID: PMC7037706.