In a press release published on 16 July, the Spanish Confederation of Alzheimer's and Other Dementias (CEAFA) has strongly condemned a decision by Spain's Interministerial Commission on the Pricing of Medicines to refuse, once again, to fund the first therapies shown to slow the progression of early Alzheimer's disease.
The press release states that anti-amyloid therapies have already been authorised by the European Medicines Agency and the Spanish Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices and are available in more than fifty countries worldwide. CEAFA argues that the decision places Spain outside biomedical innovation and denies thousands of people the only therapeutic option capable of delaying the course of their disease.
"This constitutes a historic betrayal of people with Alzheimer's and an absolute disregard for their dignity," said Mariló Almagro, president of CEAFA. She warned that the decision would condemn a generation of patients to lose the chance to access the only current treatments capable of modifying the course of their disease.
CEAFA points to the "Alzheimer's Decalogue" it developed with Spain's leading scientific and medical societies, which calls for the new treatments to be funded and made available regardless of where patients live. It also highlights the economic burden carried by families, who bear around 80% of the cost of advanced Alzheimer's, close to 30,000 euros a year. The confederation has pledged to step up its advocacy until the decision is reversed.
Read CEAFA’s press release (Spanish): https://ceafa.es/es/que-comunicamos/notas-de-prensa-y-comunicados/el-gobierno-de-espana-y-las-comunidades-autonomas-condenan-a-los-pacientes-con-alzheimer-al-abandono
English translation available (see PDF download, below).
