Biogen seeks to claw back SMA momentum with Spinraza data

Novartis (NOVN: VX) has grabbed many of the recent headlines in the field of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a leading genetic cause of infant mortality.

But the US approval of the Swiss pharma giant’s potentially curative gene therapy Zolgensma (onasemnogene abeparvovec-xioi) in May made it the most expensive drug ever, with the list price coming to $2.125 million, albeit paid over five years.

Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) has its own SMA therapy, which has a current US list price of between $72,000 and $130,000 for the first year of treatment when loading doses are required, and between $36,000 and $65,000 for each successive year.