Biogen has reported third-quarter product sales of merely $300,000 for its controversial new Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, falling far in want of analysts’ expectation of $10m, as the company insists it nonetheless believes inside the long-term potential of the remedy.
The drug, which costs $56,000 per affected particular person per yr, was accepted by US regulators in June, turning into the first new remedy for Alzheimer’s in practically 20 years that purports to gradual the occasion of the neurological sickness.
Nonetheless healthcare suppliers and insurers have been gradual to embrace the drug, delaying shopping for alternatives amid points over its extreme worth and doubts over its efficacy in treating the sickness.
Michel Vounatsos, Biogen chief govt, talked about on Wednesday that the US healthcare system remained a key bottleneck, particularly given pending dedication by Medicare — the federal authorities healthcare plan for folk aged over 65 years — on whether or not or not it’s going to current reimbursement for the drug. This dedication was not anticipated until April, he added.
“Be conscious this may delay entry for lots of victims by roughly 300 days from approval,” talked about Vounatsos.
“On every day foundation that passes we estimate that over 1,000 Folks switch from light to common Alzheimer’s dementia, and subsequently would possibly no longer be relevant for initiation of remedy with Aduhelm.”
Biogen hopes the remedy will develop to be a blockbuster drug capable of boosting the company’s earnings at a time when plenty of its current merchandise face rivals. Nevertheless Aduhelm’s approval has provoked a wave of controversy, with some scientists arguing there could also be scant scientific proof that it actually works.
Vounatsos suggested analysts he believed inside the information provided by the company and insisted it’d publish further in coming months aimed towards persuading docs to take up the remedy. He carried out down the worth of the drug as a component deterring its uptake nonetheless added that the company retained the selection to “fine-tune” pricing.
Some analysts reacted to the company’s presentation by downgrading their estimates for 2022 product sales of Aduhelm.
Umer Raffat, analyst at Evercore ISI, talked about the drug was extra prone to generate about $200m in product sales subsequent yr, significantly beneath analysts’ consensus estimate of $1bn.
https://www.ft.com/content material materials/cdb079fb-7cd6-4253-b14f-9840f9e60bdd | Biogen sells merely $300,000 worth of contentious Alzheimer’s drug
