In a strategic retreat from a drug mired in controversy, Biogen has announced the discontinuation of its Alzheimer's medication, Aduhelm, conceding to commercial pressures and widespread doubt over its efficacy. According to a statement obtained by CBS News, the pharmaceutical heavyweight is reverting the rights of the drug back to the original developer, Neurimmune, while absorbing a one-time financial hit of roughly $60 million as it winds down operations related to the Aduhelm program.
With Aduhelm initially priced at an eye-watering $56,000 per year and later adjusted to approximately $28,200, only to be met with resistance from insurers and Medicare due to questions surrounding its true benefit to Alzheimer’s sufferers, its journey from groundbreaking cure to commercial flop has ended less than triumphantly. The company revealed that about 2,500 people worldwide are currently on the treatment, a figure that underscores the drug's challenge in gaining traction within the medical community and among those grappling with the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's disease, as ABC News reports.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm isn't bowing out of the fight against Alzheimer's entirely though; it's shifting focus towards Leqembi, a newer medication developed in partnership with Japan's Eisai. Leqembi earned the FDA’s stamp of approval last summer and is aimed at patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s, showing some ability to decelerate the cognitive decline associated with the illness according to a CBS News report.
Once envisioned as a potential blockbuster, Aduhelm’s launch was tarnished by skepticism from the get-go with the Food and Drug Administration requiring an additional study for full approval that Biogen is now set to abandon, adding to the company's woes were hesitant doctors and apprehensive insurers including Medicare which imposed tight constraints on who could receive the drug and it ultimately led to Biogen curtailing the marketing efforts for Aduhelm as reported by ABC News.
While Biogen draws curtains on one chapter, patients may see new hope on the horizon as the FDA reviews another potential treatment from Eli Lilly and Co., with a decision expected in the near future. Meanwhile, Biogen's share prices appeared to respond favorably to the news, climbing around $4 to $251.11 in late-morning trading, even as the broader market experienced a slight downturn.
