COLUMBIA, S.C. — People with the local Alzheimer's Association and their loved ones gathered at Martin Luther King Jr. Park in Columbia on Saturday morning to demand action from either the Food and Drug Administration or the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In January, the FDA granted accelerated approval for the medication called Leqembi. Beth Sulkowski, a representative of the local Alzheimer's Association, said her organization and those it represents feel this situation deserves more attention.
"The restrictions that are currently in place are bureaucratic, to be frank," Sulkowski said. "They are keeping people who desperately need these drugs yesterday from accessing treatment."
On June 1, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said that Medicare would cover the drug if the FDA granted "traditional approval."
Due to the discrepancy in the kind of approval given, patients who need the drug have to go on a registry list. Sulkowski said this registry will slow things down.
"An estimated 2,000 people are progressing beyond the point of medical eligibility for this treatment while they are waiting," Sulkowsi said.
Kyndel Lee said she's witnessed the progression of this disease firsthand through both of her grandmothers.
Lee, like several others who attended Saturday's rally, hoped for better on behalf of their loved ones lost to Alzheimer's.
"It's not only going to give them their memories and a better quality of life for more time, but it's also going to relieve some of that burden from caregivers for a lot longer," Lee said.
This rally was one of 50 that took place across the United States this weekend.