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Lecanemab: A Humanized Monoclonal Antibody for the Treatment of Early Alzheimer Disease
Park J, Simpson C, Patel K.. The Annals of pharmacotherapy, 2023-12-14
Topic: Amyloid, tau and blood-test diagnosis
Objective To review current pharmacology, pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics, safety, and efficacy of lecanemab in patients with Alzheimer disease. Data sources A literature search of PubMed (April 1, 2016-November 15, 2023) and ClinicalTrials.gov search were conducted using the following search terms: lecanemab and BAN2401. Additional articles were identified by hand from references. Study selection and data extraction We included English-language clinical trials, randomized controlled trials, reviews, and systematic reviews evaluating lecanemab pharmacology, efficacy, or safety in humans for the management of Alzheimer disease. Data synthesis In the Clarity AD phase III trial, lecanemab led to a decrease in brain amyloid levels and showed moderate improvement in clinical measures of cognition and function. At 18 months, lecanemab 10 mg/kg biweekly exhibited a lower least squares mean change from baseline (1.21) compared to placebo (1.66) of Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes score, signifying a significant difference of -0.45 (95% CI, -0.67 to -0.23; P Relevance to patient care and clinical practice Lecanemab reduces cognitive decline but raises concerns about intravenous administration, cost, and magnetic resonance imaging needs. Ongoing trials exploring subcutaneous dosing and positron emission tomography scans may offer solutions. Conclusion Lecanemab is a humanized monoclonal antibody that is selective for soluble amyloid-beta (Aβ) aggregates. Lecanemab has exhibited a decrease in brain Aβ plaques and moderately less decline on clinical measures of cognitive function.
Key findings
- At 18 months, lecanemab 10 mg/kg biweekly exhibited a lower least squares mean change from baseline (1.21) compared to placebo (1.66) of Clinical Dementia Rating-Sum of Boxes score, signifying a significant difference of -0.45 (95% CI, -0.67 to -0.23; P < 0.001).
Why it matters
In the Clarity AD phase III trial, lecanemab reduced brain amyloid levels and showed moderate improvement in clinical measures of cognition and function compared with placebo at 18 months. It reduces cognitive decline but raises concerns about intravenous administration, cost, and magnetic resonance imaging needs.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthHigh
How this study scored 45/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on senior author's track record and institution's track record, so those were left out: it earned 42 of the 93 points we could judge it on, which is 45 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Annals of pharmacotherapy) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Annals of Pharmacotherapy: journal h-index 153 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 5 / 5 | Rated “high” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2024 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 3 / 7 | Cited 22 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.5 citations a year over 4 year(s) since 2024 |
| Impact for its field and year | 3 / 6 | Cited 3.2× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 3 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 22 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | OpenAlex's profile for last-listed author Katie Patel holds only 9 work(s), too few to judge a track record — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 0 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 0 institution(s) in 0 countries — scores zero (affiliation lists can be incomplete) |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 38095619) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Points | 42 / 93 | Scored on 18 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 42 of the 93 points we could judge it on is 45 out of 100. |
| Total | 45 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription Unpaywall, Europe PMC and OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 10 Oct 2026), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Park, J., Simpson, C., & Patel, K. (2024). Lecanemab: A Humanized Monoclonal Antibody for the Treatment of Early Alzheimer Disease. The Annals of pharmacotherapy. https://doi.org/10.1177/10600280231218253
Vancouver
Park J, Simpson C, Patel K. Lecanemab: A Humanized Monoclonal Antibody for the Treatment of Early Alzheimer Disease. The Annals of pharmacotherapy. 2024. doi:10.1177/10600280231218253. PMID: 38095619.
BibTeX
@article{park2024-38095619,
author = {Park, J. and Simpson, C. and Patel, K.},
title = {{Lecanemab: A Humanized Monoclonal Antibody for the Treatment of Early Alzheimer Disease}},
journal = {The Annals of pharmacotherapy},
year = {2024},
doi = {10.1177/10600280231218253},
pmid = {38095619},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/10600280231218253}
}
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