March 27 (Reuters) - Eli Lilly ( LLY ) on Thursday

expanded its direct-to-consumer online platform LillyDirect to

include telehealth providers to diagnose and care for patients

with Alzheimer's disease, potentially boosting sales of its drug

Kisunla.

"There are capacity challenges ... not all patients live

directly near a health center or a specialist who is treating

Alzheimer's patients," said Laura Steele, senior vice president

of U.S. neuroscience at Lilly.

Studies have shown that many patients face prolonged wait

times to see a dementia specialist, limiting their ability to

receive treatments, like Kisunla, that need to be used in the

earliest stages of the mind-robbing disease.

"We need more accessible and comprehensive ways to rapidly

evaluate patients with memory and thinking problems," Dr. Eric

Reiman, CEO of Banner Alzheimer's Institute in Phoenix, said in

an email.

Others, however, questioned whether access to telehealth

providers would do much to solve the bottlenecks.

With video calls "something is lost in translation that you

get face-to-face. Not to mention the physical part of it

-understanding a person's mobility issues is really important,"

said Dr. David Knopman, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in

Rochester, Minnesota.

He said a telehealth specialist would still need to locate

doctors in brick-and-mortar facilities to carry out biomarker

testing and treatment, which needs to be carefully monitored due

to safety concerns.

"The last thing you want is therapy done at a distance,"

Knopman said.

The LillyDirect website already connected people with

telehealth providers to obtain mailed prescriptions for

weight-loss medicine Zepbound, as well as other drugs for

diabetes and migraine.

Kisunla, which is given by infusion and has an annual U.S.

list price of around $32,000, is not available for home

delivery. The drug, approved by U.S. regulators last July, had

2024 sales of $9.3 million.

Kisunla was the second approved drug designed to clear an

Alzheimer's-related protein called beta amyloid from the brains

of people diagnosed with early Alzheimer's. The first

amyloid-clearing drug was Leqembi, sold by Eisai ( ESALF ) and

Biogen.

Lilly said its website can connect people experiencing

memory and thinking issues to independent in-person and

telehealth options. These include the Healthgrades doctor

locator tool to find local office-based clinicians with

experience diagnosing and treating Alzheimer's patients and

Synapticure, an independent provider specializing in

neurodegenerative care.

Synapticure employs clinicians for telehealth management

during any or all of the phases of Alzheimer's disease care,

including diagnosis, treatment and monitoring, Lilly said.

Its telehealth capabilities include live video visits, broad

insurance coverage, prior authorization support, 24-hour access

when needed, ongoing medication and care management, and

behavioral health and lifestyle support.