“I am very pleased that we can now also start helping people diagnosed with early Alzheimer’s disease in Sweden. There is a great need for new treatment options that slow disease progression from its early stages, to reduce the burden on patients and their families, as well as on healthcare providers and society,” says Gunilla Osswald, CEO of BioArctic. “It is fantastic to see that this innovation, based on Professor Lars Lannfelt’s research at Uppsala University, can finally help patients in Sweden, where it all began, after more than 20 years of research and development.”

Leqembi has been approved in the EU since April 2025 as the first treatment that targets an underlying disease mechanism in Alzheimer’s disease. It is approved for adults with mild cognitive impairment or mild Alzheimer’s disease, together referred to as early Alzheimer’s disease. Patients must have confirmed amyloid pathology and carry no more than one copy of the ApoE ε4 gene, since they are at lower risk of ARIA, a known side effect involving swelling and potential bleeding in the brain.

Since the EU approval, Eisai and BioArctic have worked to give Swedish patients access to the treatment. In April 2026, however, the NT Council (the Swedish regional cooperation body for new therapies) advised the regions against using Leqembi. Since then, Executive Health in Stockholm, where the first patient was treated, has been working to offer the treatment to patients with early Alzheimer’s disease.

Related article

The price of access: Industry and regulators are at odds over Nordic drug costs

The ongoing struggle in the Nordic countries to keep prescription drug prices affordable without shutting out innovative, more expensive therapies continues to frustrate pharmaceutical companies as the introduction of new drugs to the region slows.

The antibody was originally developed by BioArctic, based on Lannfelt’s discovery of the Arctic mutation in Alzheimer’s disease. Eisai is responsible for clinical development, regulatory filings, and global commercialization, while BioArctic has the right to commercialize Leqembi in the Nordics together with Eisai. Leqembi is currently approved in 53 countries.