On July 29th, the Right Care Alliance (https://rightcarealliance.org/about/) hosted a town hall on Aduhelm, watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR1fyKPOXuk&t=3337s.
The speakers are listed below:
Aaron S. Kesselheim MD, JD, MPH, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School
Linda Furlini Ph.D., Research Ethics Specialist and Administrator. Research Review Office, CIUSSS du Centre-Ouest-de-l'Île-de-Montréal
Peter J. Whitehouse MD, Ph.D., Professor of Neurology, Professor of Psychiatry, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and Organizational Behavior, at Case Western Reserve University and Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto
Much of the conversation was focused on the lack of data and risks of Aduhelm; the fast-track/accelerated FDA approval; failed phase trials, etc. This was an informative session and interesting to hear various perspectives, albeit anti-Aduhelm.
In other news...
Last week that the VA (The Department of Veterans Affairs) refuses to cover Aduhelm because of the potential serious side effects lack of evidence of effectiveness. The VA estimated that the drug could cost over $4 billion per year, not including the additional costs of necessary screening tests and imaging scans. We will have to see how Medicare and other insurance companies approach coverage for this therapy.
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