If you’ve been following the medical headlines lately, you probably feel like you’re watching a high-stakes chess match where the board keeps changing. Honestly, it's a lot to keep track of. One week we’re celebrating a new "miracle" infusion, and the next, there’s a massive scandal about faked data in Florida.
Alzheimer's drug news today is no longer just about finding any treatment; it’s about making the ones we have safer, easier to take, and actually accessible without bankrupting the average family.
We are officially in the "Subcutaneous Era." If that sounds like jargon, basically it just means we’re moving away from hours-long hospital IV drips and toward simple shots you can get under the skin.
The Battle of the Shots: Leqembi vs. Kisunla
Right now, the heavy hitters are Biogen’s Leqembi (lecanemab) and Eli Lilly’s Kisunla (donanemab). For the last year, they’ve been neck-and-neck, splitting the market right down the middle. But the big news dropping this week from the JPMorgan Healthcare Conference is that the "at-home" race is heating up.
Biogen CEO Chris Viehbacher is betting the farm on a subcutaneous version of Leqembi. They already got the green light for a "maintenance" shot (Leqembi Iqlick) late last year for people who have already finished 18 months of infusions. But the real kicker? They’re pushing for FDA approval by mid-2026 to let patients start with the shots from day one.
Imagine skipping the infusion center entirely.
Lilly isn't sitting still, though. They’ve got a second drug in the wings called remternetug. It’s another amyloid-attacker, but it was designed from the ground up to be a subcutaneous injection. Trial results for that one are expected by March 2026.
👉 See also: The Stanford Prison Experiment Unlocking the Truth: What Most People Get Wrong
The "Medically Impossible" Scandal
You can't talk about the news today without mentioning the elephant in the room. A pretty nasty scandal just broke involving T3D Therapeutics and a contract research firm called Clinilabs.
T3D is basically alleging that five clinics in South Florida faked data for their experimental drug, T3D-959. We’re talking about "medically impossible" results where people in the placebo group—who shouldn't be getting better—were suddenly showing massive cognitive gains. Even weirder? Some people in the trial didn't even have Alzheimer's, and others who were supposed to be taking the drug had zero trace of it in their blood.
It’s a mess.
This matters because it casts a shadow over how these trials are run. If for-profit clinics are "gaming" the system to keep the grant money flowing, it puts every new discovery under a microscope. It’s a reminder that while the science is exciting, the business side can get ugly.
What’s the Catch? (There's Always a Catch)
Let’s talk about ARIA. It stands for Amyloid-Related Imaging Abnormalities. In plain English, it's brain swelling or micro-bleeding. It’s the side effect that keeps neurologists up at night.
Lilly recently updated the label for Kisunla (donanemab) to include a new "titration" schedule. Basically, they found that if they ease you onto the drug more slowly, the risk of brain swelling drops significantly. For people with the APOE ε4 gene—the one that puts you at highest risk for side effects—the rate of swelling dropped from 57% down to about 19% with this new dosing.
✨ Don't miss: In the Veins of the Drowning: The Dark Reality of Saltwater vs Freshwater
That is a massive win for safety.
The Cost Reality Check
Medicare is finally playing ball, but "coverage" doesn't mean "free."
- Leqembi list price: ~$27,439/year.
- Kisunla list price: ~$32,000/year.
- The Gap: Even with Medicare Part B covering 80%, you could still be on the hook for over $5,000 a year out of pocket unless you have a solid Medigap plan.
Plus, you’ve got the "hidden" costs. You need regular MRIs to check for that brain swelling we talked about. You need PET scans. You need specialist visits. Some estimates put the total cost of care closer to $70,000 annually.
New Frontiers: Beyond the Plaque
For decades, we’ve been obsessed with "amyloid plaques"—the gunk that builds up in the brain. But some of the most interesting Alzheimer's drug news today is about shifting targets.
Tau Tangles: There’s a drug called BIIB080 (an antisense oligonucleotide, if you want to be fancy) that targets Tau. Tau is the protein that actually correlates better with memory loss than amyloid does. We’re expecting a big data readout on this in mid-2026.
Energy and Inflammation: Researchers at Case Western Reserve recently showed that restoring the brain’s energy balance (using a molecule called NAD+) could potentially reverse damage, not just slow it down. This is still in animal models, but it’s a huge paradigm shift.
🔗 Read more: Whooping Cough Symptoms: Why It’s Way More Than Just a Bad Cold
The THC Combo: A study out of UT Health San Antonio just showed that pairing low-dose THC with an anti-inflammatory like Celebrex (celecoxib) might protect the brain without the "stoned" side effects. Since both drugs are already FDA-approved for other things, this could move to human trials way faster than a brand-new chemical.
What You Should Do Now
If you or a family member are looking at these treatments, don't just wait for your next annual checkup. The landscape is moving too fast.
First, get the genetic test. If you have the APOE ε4 gene, your risk of brain swelling on drugs like Leqembi or Kisunla is much higher. You need to know your status before that first needle hits your arm.
Second, ask about the "SubQ" options. If your doctor is still pushing for twice-monthly infusions, ask if you’re a candidate for the newer maintenance shots. It could save you hundreds of hours in a waiting room over the next year.
Third, look into the "registry" requirement. To get Medicare to pay, your doctor has to submit your data to a national registry. It’s not a big deal for you, but if your doctor isn't set up for it, Medicare won't cut the check.
Finally, keep an eye on the APOLLOE4 trial results for Valiltramiprosate (ALZ-801). It’s an oral pill designed specifically for people with that high-risk APOE4 gene. If that gets approved later this year or in early 2027, it’ll be the first disease-modifying pill on the market. No needles, no infusions, no hospital stays. That’s the real game-changer everyone is waiting for.