Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi – a treatment proven to slow the clinical aspects of the progressive disease – could soon be available at several major U.S. health care systems. 

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted full approval last month to the Alzheimer’s drug, produced by Japanese drugmaker Eisai and Massachusetts-based Biogen, making it widely accessible and covered by Medicare. It is administered every two weeks by infusion.

FDA TO DECIDE ON FULL APPROVAL OF ALZHEIMER’S TREATMENT LEQEMBI IN EARLY JULY

Northwestern Medicine, which has 11 hospitals in Illinois, told FOX Business on Monday that qualifying patients will gradually start the treatment within the next one to two months. The rollout will start at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in downtown Chicago and eventually expand system-wide, a spokesperson for Northwestern Medicine said. 

The Cleveland Clinic’s Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health’s locations in Cleveland and Las Vegas will start offering the treatment to current qualifying patients. It will roll out in the next few months, according to the center, which did not offer specifics on the exact timing. 

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, told FOX Business that it plans to start offering the drug “on a limited basis to patients who meet the clinical trial criteria on a case-by-case basis later this fall.” 

FDA APPROVAL OF ALZHEIMER’S DRUG ADUHELM ‘RIFE WITH IRREGULARITIES,’ HOUSE REPORT SAYS

The Mayo Clinics in Florida and Arizona are also planning to offer the drug “in the future,” the health care system said.

A spokesperson for the Westchester Medical Center Health Network, a health care system with nine hospitals headquartered in Valhalla, New York, said it plans to offer the drug “but not imminently as research is ongoing.” 

Eisai first received conditional approval from the FDA in January based on early results suggesting Leqembi worked by clearing a sticky brain plaque linked to the disease. 

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

According to the phase three clinical trial, the drug slowed the rate of cognitive decline in patients by 27% when compared to a placebo after 18 months. 

Dr. Sharon Cohen, a behavioral neurologist and clinical trial investigator for the Clarity AD study, told FOX Business this is the first time the FDA has approved a drug that has been shown to “slow down the clinical aspects of Alzheimer’s disease, meaning people will lose memory at a slower rate and lose their functional abilities at a slower rate.” 

Eisai priced the treatment at $26,500 annually per patient.

An estimated 6.7 million Americans who are at least 65 years old are living with Alzheimer’s in 2023, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. That figure is projected to rise to nearly 13 million by 2050. The disease also “kills more than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined,” the association said. 

FOX News’ Andrea Vacchiano and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Read More 

Tesla Chief Financial Officer and so-called “master of coin” Zachary Kirkhorn has stepped down from his role and will be leaving the electric-vehicle maker at the end of 2023 after 13 years at the company.

Tesla announced the move in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing dated Aug. 4, saying it has appointed Chief Accounting Officer Vaibhav Taneja as Kirkhorn’s replacement.

In a LinkedIn post on Monday, Kirkhorn acknowledged the news and expressed gratitude toward his Tesla colleagues, including CEO Elon Musk.

US REGULATORS INVESTIGATE 280K TESLA MODELS FOR STEERING ISSUE: ‘SERIOUS SAFETY HAZARD’

“As I shift my responsibilities to support this transition, I want to thank the talented, passionate, and hard-working employees at Tesla, who have accomplished things many thought not possible,” he wrote. “I also want to thank Elon for his leadership and optimism, which has inspired so many people.”

Kirkhorn took over as CFO at Tesla in 2019. During his tenure, the company posted its first quarterly profit and hit a market valuation of more than $1 trillion.

ELON MUSK SAYS ‘FIGHT’ AGAINST MARK ZUCKERBERG WILL BE LIVE-STREAMED ON X

Tesla did not reveal the reason for Kirkhorn’s departure, but speculation is already swirling. 

“That he’s going to be around until the end of the year is evidence that this is just for personal reasons and the personal reason is likely that working with Elon Musk is really hard and he’s done it for 13 years,” said Gene Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

Taneja, 45, joined Tesla after the EV maker acquired SolarCity in 2016. He takes on the CFO position in addition to his role as chief accounting officer, the company said.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Read More 

Oil prices surged on Monday to the highest level in months after Saudi Arabia extended production cuts for another month, threatening to keep inflation in the U.S. abnormally high. 

West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, hovered around $82 a barrel during afternoon trading, the highest level since mid-April, when prices rose to more than $83. Brent crude – the international benchmark – was up to about $85.30 a barrel, a 3% increase from the start of the year.

The spike in prices follows major supply cuts by the coalition of oil-producing countries led by Russia and Saudi Arabia, known collectively as OPEC+. The group already had in place oil output cuts of about 3.66 million barrels per day when Saudi Arabia announced that it would extend the cuts into September, further constraining supply.

SAUDI ARABIA TO EXTEND OIL PRODUCTION CUTS THROUGH SEPTEMBER, SIGNALING POTENTIAL RISE IN US GAS PRICES

Gas prices have already started to march higher as a result. 

The average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline was about $3.89 on Monday, according to AAA, up more than 8% from the same time one month ago. That is the highest level since October 2022, although prices remain below the record high of $5.01 notched in June 2022. 

More expensive oil – and gasoline – threaten to exacerbate stubborn inflation that is still running about two times higher than the pre-pandemic average. 

AMERICANS EXPECT HIGH INFLATION TO STICK AROUND IN LATEST NEW YORK FED SURVEY

“If gasoline prices continue to climb higher, the Fed will find it difficult to declare that inflation has peaked given the importance of gasoline prices with regard to consumer perceptions of long-term inflation,” said Quincy Krosby, chief global strategist for LPL Financial. “It becomes ‘sticky’ as consumers invariably – and historically – begin to anticipate higher inflation over a three-year period as prices at the pump rise.”

It could also complicate the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tame price pressures within the economy while also trying to achieve a so-called soft landing. 

This is “the antithesis of what the Fed wants to see as it tries to quell the last vestiges of inflationary pressures and declare victory,” Krosby said. 

The Fed approved an 11th interest rate increase at the end of July, bringing the key benchmark federal funds rate to the highest level since 2001.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

It marked the 11th rate increase aimed at combating high inflation since policymakers began tightening in March 2022. Policymakers also left the door open to additional interest rate increases this year, despite a recent pullback in inflation. 

“We will continue to make our decisions meeting-by-meeting based on the totality of the incoming data and their implications for the outlook for economic activity and inflation, as well as the balance of risks,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters in July.

Read More 

Rates for well-qualified borrowers using the Credible marketplace to refinance student loans decreased this week for 5-year variable-rate loans and increased for 10-year fixed-rate loans.

For borrowers with credit scores of 720 or higher who used the Credible marketplace to select a lender the week of July 31, 2023:

If you’re curious about what kind of student loan refinance rates you may qualify for, you can use an online tool like Credible to compare options from different private lenders. 

To provide relief from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, interest and payments on federal student loans have been suspended since March 2020. However, interest will begin accruing again on Sept. 1, 2023, with payments resuming in October. But many borrowers with private student loans are taking advantage of the low interest rate environment to refinance their education debt at lower rates.

If you qualify to refinance your student loans, the interest rate you may be offered can depend on factors like your FICO score, the type of loan you’re seeking (fixed or variable rate) and the loan repayment term. 

The chart above shows that good credit can help you get a lower rate and that rates tend to be higher on loans with fixed interest rates and longer repayment terms. Because each lender has its own method of evaluating borrowers, it’s a good idea to request rates from multiple lenders so you can compare your options. A student loan refinancing calculator can help you estimate how much you might save.

If you want to refinance with bad credit, you may need to apply with a cosigner. Or, you can work on improving your credit before applying. Many lenders will allow children to refinance parent PLUS loans in their own name after graduation.

You can use Credible to compare rates from multiple private lenders at once without affecting your credit score.

The rates private lenders charge to refinance student loans depend in part on the economy and interest rate environment, but also the loan term, the type of loan (fixed- or variable-rate), the borrower’s creditworthiness and the lender’s operating costs and profit margin.

Credible is a multi-lender marketplace that empowers consumers to discover financial products that are the best fit for their unique circumstances. Credible’s integrations with leading lenders and credit bureaus allow consumers to quickly compare accurate, personalized loan options – without putting their personal information at risk or affecting their credit score. The Credible marketplace provides an unrivaled customer experience, as reflected by over 5,000+ positive Trustpilot reviews and a TrustScore of 4.7/5.

Read More