Expected to be a big deal, Alzheimer’s drug is pulled after disappointing sales

Drugmaker Biogen is pulling the plug on its controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, following disappointing sales. It had been expected to be a blockbuster product.

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A drugmaker is pulling the plug on an Alzheimer’s treatment that was once expected to be a blockbuster. NPR’s Sydney Lupkin reports on what happened and what it could mean for patients.

SYDNEY LUPKIN, BYLINE: Aduhelm was supposed to be a big deal. That’s because the drug cleared sticky clumps of protein called amyloid from the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Of the two big studies of Aduhelm submitted to the Food and Drug Administration, one found that the drug delayed the loss of memory and thinking, while the other found no clear benefit. A panel of experts advising the agency recommended against approval, but the agency did it anyway in 2021 with a catch. Biogen, the drug’s maker, had to do more research to confirm Aduhelm worked and get the study done by 2030. Now Biogen says it couldn’t find a partner or financing to help pay for the costly confirmatory study, so it’s cutting its losses and focusing on its other FDA-approved Alzheimer’s drug called Leqembi. Dr. Aaron Kesselheim from Harvard was one of three FDA advisers who resigned in protest over the Aduhelm approval.

AARON KESSELHEIM: The fact that in the intervening three-plus years that there has been no additional data that’s come out that suggested anything positive about this drug is an indicator to me that the advisory committee was correct in assessing this drug did not have good evidence and should not have been approved.

LUPKIN: Aduhelm never took off. Biogen initially set its price at $56,000 a year, but demand was so weak the company slashed the price in half a few months later. Medicare also limited coverage for Aduhelm to patients who were in clinical trials. Still, Biogen’s decision to withdraw Aduhelm was unexpected. Heather Snyder from the…