Aduhelm is an extremely new drug for Alzheimer’s Disease that had almost no significant effect in clinical testing. It’s so expensive that Medicare drug premiums would double. In my opinion, the FDA should not have approved it since it doesn’t work.
https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/11/medicare-aduhelm-propose…
**Medicare plans to restrict access to controversial, pricey Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm to patients in clinical trials**
**By Rachel Cohrs, Stat, Jan. 11, 2022**
**Medicare plans to cover the controversial, pricey Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, but only for certain patients enrolled in clinical trials, the agency announced on Tuesday....**
**Medicare will also limit those who can get the drug to people who have mild forms of cognitive impairment. ...**
**The new proposal is not final, and could still change substantially before it’s finalized later this spring....** [end quote]
There was such a backlash against the price of Aduhelm that Biogen cut the price in half. Despite this, a number of prominent hospitals and academic medical centers have refused to administer the drug at all.
Clinical trials have relatively few participants and only near major research centers. If the new proposal is finalized, only a tiny fraction of the potential sales will happen. This would spare Medicare beneficiaries a major price increase that many can’t afford.
This is a good thing. The only better step would be for the FDA to reverse the approval of Aduhelm.
Wendy