A New Option for Alzheimer’s At-Home Care

The U.S. FDA recently approved the first at-home maintenance treatment option for Alzheimer’s disease, an injectable version of the anti-amyloid Alzheimer’s treatment, Leqembi® (lecanemab). The self-injecting pen, sold as Leqembi® Iqlik™ (pronounced “eye-CLICK”), is approved for patients who have completed an initial intravenous (IV) course of Leqembi®. It provides a convenient at-home option for ongoing maintenance dosing for patients managing this disease.

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Leqembi® is an anti-amyloid treatment for Alzheimer’s
Leqembi® is a monoclonal antibody therapy that targets and clears amyloid plaques, or abnormal clumps of protein that build up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. It was FDA-approved in 2023 as an IV infusion. In clinical trials it modestly slowed cognitive decline by ~27% in people with early-stage disease.¹ The initial course of Leqembi® treatment involves twice-monthly infusions, each lasting about one hour, over the course of 18 months.² After this, patients may be advised to continue with maintenance therapy. Continuing treatment is key to managing the disease, as it reduces amyloid in both plaques and protofibrils, which can harm neurons and can impair their function.³

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At-home injection option with comparable outcomes
The approval of Leqembi® Iqlik™ gives patients an at-home option for receiving maintenance doses without long infusion times in a doctor’s office or clinic. It is supplied as an autoinjector pen, that delivers a dose of 360 mg of lecanemab via a once-weekly injection.^4,5 Patients may also opt to continue to receive maintenance treatment intravenously once every four weeks.

The FDA approval of Leqembi® Iqlik™ was based on Phase 3 clinical trial data in patients with early Alzheimer’s disease. Results showed that patients who switched to the autoinjector pen after the initial 18-month treatment period did about as well as those who stayed on IV treatment. Their thinking, memory, and daily functioning continued to decline more slowly in both groups. Measures of brain health were also similar, including reduced amyloid build up on scans and lower levels of problem proteins like tau in blood/CSF tests.⁴

The safety of the injectable medication was similar to the IV version, with one notable difference — systemic (whole-body) reactions, such as headache, fever, and fatigue, were far more rare with the shot (under 1%) than with IV infusions (about 26%).⁴ About 11% of people had mild swelling, or itching at the injection site. Rates of amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA), a side effect monitored on brain scans, were also similar. ARIA is often symptom-free, though it can sometimes be serious, life-threatening, or even fatal, and most cases happen in the first six months after starting IV treatment with Leqembi®.

Leqembi® Iqlik™ is slated to become available in the U.S. in October 2025. For people paying cash, it will cost ~$19,500 per year, compared with about $13,316 per year for IV maintenance dosing. Medicare covers lecanemab as IV infusions fall under Part B (typically 20% coinsurance after the Part B deductible). The new autoinjector will likely fall under Part D, where out-of-pocket costs are capped at $2,000/year in 2025.⁶

Though these treatments do not reverse Alzheimer’s, they represent the first meaningful progress toward slowing disease progression and preserving quality of life longer. Patients should discuss eligibility, dosing route (IV vs injection), monitoring, and insurance coverage with their care team. Leqembi® Iqlik™ provides a more convenient at-home maintenance option with comparable outcomes to IV therapy, helping patients manage Alzheimer’s disease while preserving quality of life.

References

1. van Dyck, C. H. et al. Lecanemab in Early Alzheimer’s Disease. N Engl J Med 388, 9–21 (2023).
2. Eisai Pharmaceuticals. Prescribing-Information.pdf. Leqembi Prescribing Information https://www.leqembi.com/-/media/Files/Leqembi/Prescribing-Information.pdf?hash=3d7bf1a2-5db2-4990-8388-81086f415676.
3. Ono, K. & Tsuji, M. Protofibrils of Amyloid-β are Important Targets of a Disease-Modifying Approach for Alzheimer’s Disease. Int J Mol Sci 21, 952 (2020).
4. FDA Approves LEQEMBI® IQLIKTM (lecanemab-irmb) Subcutaneous Injection for Maintenance Dosing for the Treatment of Early Alzheimer’s Disease | News Release：2025. Eisai Co., Ltd. https://www.eisai.com/news/2025/news202559.html.
5. Alzheimer’s Association Applauds FDA Action Approving Leqembi Weekly Subcutaneous Maintenance Dosing. Alzheimer’s Association https://www.alz.org/news/2025/fda-action-approving-leqembi-subcutaneous-maintenance-dosing (2025).
6. LEQEMBI is FDA Approved. https://www.leqembi.com/.