LEXINGTON, Ky. (FOX 56) — A new drug being studied at the University of Kentucky has been approved by the FDA to treat Alzheimer’s.

The drug, called lecanemab, works by removing a sticky protein from the brain that’s believed to cause the advancement of Alzheimer’s.

“The approval was accelerated, but it wasn’t conditional. So, what that really means is that Alzheimer’s disease itself is an unmet need. Diseases with unmet needs are ones that we don’t have any medicines that are approved that can impact and change the disease itself. We have medicines for memory — that help with memory — but this new medicine actually removes the amyloid plaques from the brain,” said Greg Jicha, M.D., Ph.D., director of clinical trials at UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

The first-ever clinical trials for the drug were performed at UK’s Sanders-Brown Center on Aging.

Researchers said the drug could add 2.5 years of quality life before a patient declines into the more severe stages of the disease.

Drugmaker Eisai is seeking traditional approval, according to UK.