Late last year, Aduhelm decided to slash the price from $56K down to $28K, in anticipation of Medicare's (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) approval to cover the cost for its members. Earlier this year, Medicare decided to severely restrict the use of Aduhelm to clinical trials only. The statement read in part "...not currently enough evidence of clinical benefit to say that it is reasonable and necessary for people with Medicare." Also, to their credit, Medicare commits to covering Aduhelm and similarly acting drugs once they get full FDA approval as Aduhelm originally had accelerated approval.
In addition to all of this, anticipating lost revenue as a result, Biogen made plans to restructure its operations to the tune of $500 million, which undoubtedly include lay-offs. Biogen announced this past May that the CEO was stepping down and that they have dismantled their Aduhelm sales team.
However...Biogen will continue with Aduhelm trials as they study the redosing of the drug. Stay tuned for more on this and their other anti-beta-amyloid drug Lecanemab. Stay tuned on this one too!
Update: December 2022
The U.S. House of Representatives concluded an 18-month investigation into the regulatory review and approval of Biogen's aducanumab.
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