It has been over 20 years since the world science community made a breakthrough in the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease, but earlier this year, regulators approved a new drug. Its effectiveness, however, has been called into question – as has its hefty price point.
Aduhelm, manufactured by Biogen, has proven controversial in the medical community as doctors wrestle with whether to prescribe it, with one major obstacle being its cost.
A year’s supply of Aduhelm for one patient can total over $50,000.
That price tag is so steep, it caused one neurology practice to ban Biogen sales reps from its office completely, and other major medical centers are also declining to prescribe it, at least in the early stages of its availability.
Salim Syed covers Biogen for Mizuho Securities USA and told the Associated Press that only about a tenth of the patients suffering from early-stage Alzheimer’s might end up taking Aduhelm.
“The drug won’t be for everybody, even with access,” Syed said.
Aduhelm’s biggest claim is that it can actually slow the spread of Alzheimer’s through the brain rather than just making its progression more manageable for the patient, but it’s not the only drug in the pipeline that says it can accomplish that lofty goal. It’s simply the first one to get approved for mass consumption.
However, that approval is proving controversial.
Several independent advisers to the Food and Drug Administration objected to Aduhelm getting the okay and later resigned in disgust. Despite that, the FDA deems that the drug can be used to treat mild symptoms of Alzheimer’s, though it has requested a follow-up study from Biogen.
Aduhelm’s main function is to clear brain plaque that is believed to play a part in Alzheimer’s, but Dr. Brendan Kelley, a neurologist at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, told the AP that there’s not as much evidence of its effectiveness as the FDA would normally hope to see before approval.
"Biogen went to the FDA with preliminary data, so it makes it really challenging to know how to navigate," he said.
And then there’s the cost.
The Neurology Center in Washington, D.C., has posted signs on its office doors berating Aduhelm’s price-tag as “irresponsible and unconscionable” and warn of the drug’s “dubious effectiveness.” The facility has banned Biogen’s sales representatives.
In an e-mailed response to the AP, Biogen Chief Medical Officer Dr.
Maha Radhakrishnan said the drug was tested on more than 3,000 patients and said that she believes Aduhelm “is reasonably likely to predict a clinical benefit” because of the data they’ve compiled through the testing process.
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