Biogen slashes price of Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm

In a bid to rescue its controversially approved Alzheimer’s drug that has failed to produce significant sales, US biotech Biogen (Nasdaq: BIIB) today announced that, effective January 1, 2022, it will reduce the wholesale acquisition cost (WAC) of Aduhelm (aducanumab-avwa) 100mg/mL injection for intravenous use in the USA by around 50%. For a patient of average weight (74 kg), the yearly cost at the maintenance dose (10mg/kg) will be $28,200.

“Over the past several months, we have listened to the feedback of our stakeholders, and we are now taking important actions to improve patient access to Aduhelm,” said Michel Vounatsos, chief executive at Biogen. “Too many patients are not being offered the choice of Aduhelm due to financial considerations and are thus progressing beyond the point of benefitting from the first treatment to address an underlying pathology of Alzheimer’s disease. We recognize that this challenge must be addressed in a way that is perceived to be sustainable for the US healthcare system,” he added.

US drug pricing watchdog the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) has said that, given Aduhelm’s uncertain benefit, a reasonable price would be $3,000 to $8,400 per year. Some analysts expected the price to come out at $10,000 per year.