Ivan Cheung

Developing drugs for Alzheimer’s is a minefield, but under Cheung’s leadership, Eisai has emerged relatively unscathed. The FDA in January granted accelerated approval for Eisai’s monoclonal antibody drug lecanemab, which appears to modestly slow cognitive decline in patients with early-stage disease; Eisai plans to co-market it with Biogen under the name Leqembi. Like Aduhelm, the controversial Biogen drug approved in 2021, Leqembi attacks amyloid, a protein that builds up in the brains of people with Alzheimer’s. But to sidestep some of the criticism dogging Aduhelm’s approval, Cheung worked with the FDA to include drug-label language about the risk of brain bleeding and swelling, and to ensure that Leqembi is only offered to specific populations matching those studied in Eisai’s clinical trials.