Aduhelm: Biogen abandons Alzheimer’s drug after controversial approval left it unfunded by Medicare

The US drug company Biogen is walking away from its Alzheimer’s drug aducanumab (Aduhelm).

Aduhelm was once billed as history’s greatest blockbuster drug, but ended up generating almost no income after insurers refused coverage and clinicians chose not to prescribe it.

The drug’s rights will revert to its original developer, Swiss firm Neurimmune, and Biogen will halt a post-market trial designed to show a clinical benefit that was not apparent in original trials.

Aduhelm’s demise will be seen as a victory for advocates of strong drug regulation and a warning to drug manufacturers who rely on marketing to paper over gaps in their data.

Launched in 20211 with an initial price of $56 000 a year for an average patient, and expected eventually to treat up to six million people, Aduhelm was forecast to take the US market—and Medicare’s budget—by storm. But Medicare’s unprecedented decision to refuse broad coverage of the drug ultimately sealed Aduhelm’s fate.2

Aduhelm was granted an accelerated approval …