Eli Lilly received approval from the US health authorities for a drug to treat early symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease on Tuesday, a company announcement states.

The new drug, Kisunla, has been shown in studies to slow down the progression of the dreaded disease.

After this approval, two Alzheimer’s treatments are now available to the approximately 6 million Americans affected by the disease. The second drug is Leqembi from the pharmaceutical company Eisai.

In a Phase III study, Kisunla showed a slowing effect on the progression of Alzheimer’s, reducing the decline in cognitive abilities and other functions by 35% over a period of 18 months compared to placebo.

In addition, patients who received the drug experienced a 39% reduction in the risk of the disease progressing to the next, more severe stage.

Eli Lilly shares fell 1.3% on Tuesday, but were previously down 3.9% when US President Joe Biden criticized both Eli Lilly’s and Novo Nordisk’s pricing of the highly popular obesity drugs Wegovy and Mounjaro in a joint post with Senator Bernie Sanders in USA Today. 

English edit: Catherine Brett