Alzheimer’s Drug Price Uproar Grows as U.S. Weighs Coverage

The $56,000 annual price tag for Biogen and Eisai's Aduhelm is drawing increasing criticism ahead of a US government decision on reimbursement policies for the recently approved Alzheimer's disease drug, reported Bloomberg.

In a letter to congressional leaders, the Employers' Prescription for Affordable Drugs, a coalition of healthcare purchasers, warned that taxpayers and employers will have to pay billions of dollars for the drug, without knowing whether it works.

Aduhelm's approval and price are a "cautionary tale of a broken system that is in profound need for reform," the group wrote.

However, it would be unusual for Medicare to limit access to a treatment that has gained a broad acceptance from the FDA, with analysts from RBC Capital Markets saying officials may not have much room to maneuver.

"The ability for CMS (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services) to meaningfully restrict Aduhelm appears limited to us in the near-term," analyst Brian Abrahams, adding "we think that CMS's hands may largely be tied, barring an intervention from Congress."

A meeting of outside experts who advise Medicare on coverage decisions could be scheduled for as soon as July, the RBC analysts wrote. Meanwhile, CMS is reviewing the FDA's decision and will have more information soon, according to a spokesperson for the agency.