Donanemab

Donanemab
Monoclonal antibody
TypeWhole antibody
SourceHumanized (from mouse)
TargetAmyloid beta
Clinical data
Trade namesKisunla
Other namesLY3002813, donanemab-azbt
AHFS/Drugs.comMonograph
License data
Routes of
administration
Intravenous
ATC code
Legal status
Legal status
Identifiers
CAS Number
DrugBank
UNII
KEGG
Chemical and physical data
FormulaC6452H10038N1708O2013S42
Molar mass145089.74 g·mol−1

Donanemab, sold under the brand name Kisunla, is a monoclonal antibody used for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.[1][2] Donanemab was developed by Eli Lilly and Company.[3][4]

The most common side effects include amyloid-related imaging abnormalities, which are brain hemorrhages and brain swelling, which can cause strokes, seizures, falls and trouble thinking. Brain hemorrhage and swelling occurred in 36.8% of patients taking donanemab and 14.9% of placebo patients.[5] Headache and allergic reactions to the medication were other common side effects.[2]

Donanemab was approved for medical use in the United States in July 2024.[2][6][7] Most of the members of the FDA advisory panel had financial conflicts of interest.[5] Treatment is intended for people with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia stage of disease, which is the same population the treatment was studied in the clinical trials.[8] Several public interest groups spoke out in FDA hearings against approval of the drug.[9]

  1. ^ a b "Kisunla- donanemab-azbt injection, solution". DailyMed. 2 July 2024. Archived from the original on 26 December 2024. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "FDA approves treatment for adults with Alzheimer's disease". U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Press release). 2 July 2024. Archived from the original on 2 July 2024. Retrieved 2 July 2024. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference mintun was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Long JM, Holtzman DM (October 2019). "Alzheimer Disease: An Update on Pathobiology and Treatment Strategies". Cell. 179 (2): 312–339. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2019.09.001. PMC 6778042. PMID 31564456.
  5. ^ a b Lenzer J, Brownlee S (September 2024). "Donanemab: Conflicts of interest found in FDA committee that approved new Alzheimer's drug". BMJ. 386: q2010. doi:10.1136/bmj.q2010. PMID 39322239.
  6. ^ "Novel Drug Approvals for 2024". U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 1 October 2024. Archived from the original on 30 April 2024. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  7. ^ New Drug Therapy Approvals 2024 (PDF). U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Report). January 2025. Archived from the original on 21 January 2025. Retrieved 21 January 2025.
  8. ^ "FDA approves treatment for Alzheimer's disease - The Yucatan Times". 12 July 2024. Archived from the original on 15 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  9. ^ "UPDATED PUBLIC PARTICIPATION INFORMATION: June 10, 2024: Meeting of the Peripheral and Central Nervous System Drugs Advisory Committee Meeting Announcement - 06/10/2024". U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). 26 July 2024. Retrieved 17 March 2025.