Eli Lilly’s Alzheimer’s drug is to be blocked from use by the NHS, reports The Telegraph by Reuters

(Reuters) – Eli Lilly’s treatment for early-stage Alzheimer’s disease is expected to be blocked for use by Britain’s National Health Service (NHS), the Telegraph reported on Friday.

The drug donanemab would be rejected by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which decides what drugs are available in the NHS, the newspaper reported, citing insiders.

The NHS and NICE declined to comment, while Eli Lilly (NYSE: ) did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

NICE is also unlikely to reverse its decision to reject an earlier Alzheimer’s drug, lecanemab, the report said.

Earlier this week, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said lecanemab’s high costs and intensive side-effect monitoring requirements made it poor value for taxpayers.

Lecanemab is the first Alzheimer’s treatment licensed for use in the country that shows some evidence of slowing disease progression.

Donanemab is even more effective in slowing the progression of Alzheimer’s disease and has been hailed as the “best” treatment for the disease by scientists, the Telegraph reported.

The MHRA may not approve donanemab due to concerns about the risk of side effects, according to the report. Both drugs have been approved for use in the United States.

A decision on donanemab has been delayed, with the regulatory agency initially planning to make an appeal in July around the same time it was approved for use in the US, the report said.