ENDPOINTS NEWS Jan 31, 2024Biogen to halt sales and development of controversial Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm
"Biogen said it will end the development and commercialization of its controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, which was approved against outside experts’ advice in mid-2021 and caused congressional inquiries and broader market pushback on pricing and efficacy.
While the company didn’t take the official step of pulling the drug from the market, this essentially discontinued the drug. Biogen said in a statement that it will hand rights for Aduhelm back to original owner Neurimmune, and took a one-time charge of $60 million in the fourth quarter.
By walking away from Aduhelm, Biogen said it will free up resources for Leqembi, its follow-up anti-amyloid treatment developed with Eisai, and will speed up work on other modalities, including an antisense oligonucleotide targeting tau (BIIB080) and an oral small molecule inhibitor of tau aggregation (BIIB113).
“Biogen is reprioritizing resources to build a leading franchise to address the multiple pathologies of the disease and patient needs,” CEO Chris Viehbacher said in the company’s statement.
Biogen will also halt work on a Phase IV confirmatory trial, which regulators had requested in order to try and confirm the drug’s benefit as a condition for selling it in the US."
AUTHOR: Kyle LaHucik
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