New skin patch treatment for Alzheimer's approved by the European Commission

A skin patch to treat Alzheimer's disease has been approved by the European Commission.

The skin patch manufactured by the Swiss drugmaker Novartis is called Exelon and provides a new way of delivering the drug to patients suffering from mild to moderately severe Alzheimer's disease.

The Exelon patch is applied to the back, chest or upper arm, and was approved by the European Medicines Agency in July; such approval usually precedes approval by the European Commission.

The rivastigmine transdermal patch ensures steady drug levels are maintained in the bloodstream and helps to fight the disease and also reduces side-effects; Alzheimer's alters the brain and causes impaired memory, thinking and behaviour.

A recent survey of Alzheimer's disease care givers, found that 70% of them preferred the patch over traditional medicine as it made it easier to follow treatment schedules.

The United States approved the Alzheimer patch in August but has warned Novartis regarding misleading claims about the medicine's effectiveness and risks in the promotion of Exelon.

The European Union has also recommended Novartis's experimental leukaemia drug Tasigna and a new medication, Eucreas, which is a combination of the company's Galvus pill with the older medicine metformin as a treatment for diabetes.