Aricept (donepezil), Reminyl (galantamine), and Exelon (rivastigmine)

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has ruled that the following medications, which cost just £2.80 per person per day, are cost effective and should be available on prescription. The medications concerned include:

• Aricept (donepezil)
• Reminyl (galantamine), and
• Exelon (rivastigmine)

Each of these drugs work by inhibiting an enzyme which breaks down acetylcholine – hopefully boosting levels of the brain chemical, which has been linked to memory function in Alzheimer’s.

In addition NICE says the medication Exiba (memantine) should be prescribed to patients with more advanced Alzheimer’s.

Download

• NICE appraisal consultation document
• NICE evaluation report
• NICE overview

The newly proposed guidelines reverses earlier guidelines that the drugs did not offer sufficient benefit to justify their cost. NICE says that the publication of further clinical studies into the drugs in the five years since they were last appraised show more clearly the benefits to patients with “mild” Alzheimer’s. NICE says it is confident that the extra cost of caring for these patients outweighs the cost of the drugs themselves.