If the European Commission decides to grant sales of the medicine, it will be the first Alzheimer's medicine available in the European Union region. According to the EMA, the recommendation excludes patients who carry two copies of the ApoE4 gene, considering higher risk of side effects such as swelling and bleeding in the brain.

A European regulatory committee now recommends approval of the Alzheimer’s treatment lecanemab a few months after rejecting the drug. Biogen said Thursday that the drug, known in the U.S. as Leqembi,

Europe's medicines watchdog on Thursday partially approved a marketing request for a long-awaited new treatment for Alzheimer's disease, reversing an earlier decision not to give it the green light.

The European Union's drugs regulator on Thursday recommended approval for Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi in some patients with early Alzheimer's disease, nearly four months after it first rejected the treatment.

The European Union's drugs regulator reversed its decision to block the Alzheimer's drug lecanemab, a treatment aimed at slowing cognitive decline in patients. In July, the Amsterdam-based European Medicines Agency (EMA) denied recommending approval of the drug made by Eisai and Biogen because it considered the risks - especially bleeding and swelling in the brain - to be greater than the potential benefits in a broad population.

Reversing an earlier decision, European regulators recommended that an Alzheimer’s therapy from Eisai and Biogen should be approved.

The European Union's drugs regulator on Thursday said it recommends approval of Eisai and Biogen's Leqembi in patients with early Alzheimer's disease, months after the agency first rejected the treatment.