NEW YORK — The Alzheimer’s medication Aduhelm is being discontinued by drugmaker Biogen as it shifts resources to its other Alzheimer’s medication, Leqembi, and developing other treatments, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.
“As a pioneer in Alzheimer’s disease, Biogen is reprioritizing resources to build a leading franchise to address the multiple pathologies of the disease and patient needs. We plan to further advance the launch of LEQEMBI, together with Eisai, and continue to bolster innovation with the development of the other assets in our pipeline,” Biogen CEO and president Christopher Viehbacher said in a statement.
The company said it will end the study that would’ve been needed for full approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. The decision to end development of the drug was “not related to any safety or efficacy concerns,” the company said.
In a statement, the Alzheimer’s Association recognized the impact Aduhelm had on the landscape of Alzheimer’s treatments, saying its accelerated approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2021 kicked off “a new era” of treatments for the disease and “provided hope for the millions of people living with early Alzheimer’s, and their families.”
“The Alzheimer’s treatment pipeline is robust, with a wide variety of treatment targets being investigated,” the association said in the statement.
Medicare had previously restricted coverage of Aduhelm to those enrolled in qualifying clinical trials last year, saying at the time that the “significant of serious unknown factors could result in harm.”
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, which is a general term for the loss of memory and intellectual abilities. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that about 6 million people are living with the disease. Alzheimer’s disease is fatal, and there is no cure. It is a slow-moving disease that starts with memory loss and ends with severe brain damage.
