Oct 23 (Reuters) - UK's Medicines and Healthcare

products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved Eli Lilly's ( LLY )

treatment for early Alzheimer's disease, the company said on

Wednesday.

Britain is the third major market where donanemab, branded

as Kisunla, has been approved, Lilly said. It was approved by

the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in July and by Japan in

September.

Yet, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence

(NICE), which decides what drugs are available on the NHS, said

in a draft determination that donanemab does not currently

demonstrate value for the NHS.

Currently, there are about 982,000 people living with

dementia in the UK, with 50%-75% of cases attributable to

Alzheimer's, according to data from the NICE.

(Reporting by Prerna Bedi, Shanima A and Bhanvi Satija in

Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Varun H K)