FDA OKs aducanumab for Alzheimer's, turning controversial Biogen drug into a megablockbuster
The FDA has approved the Biogen drug aducanumab for Alzheimer’s, a stunning decision that caps nearly two years of controversy and hands the large biotech a mega-blockbuster that could earn more than $10 billion per year.
The decision makes aducanumab — now marketed as Aduhelm — the first drug specifically approved to slow the progression of the devastating memory-wasting disease, a milestone that patient advocacy groups and some leading neurologists hailed for months leading up to the FDA’s deadline. Prior to aducanumab, nearly every effort to treat Alzheimer’s had failed, even as the number of Americans living with the disorder swelled past 6 million. The last approved drug came in 2003 and only temporarily boosts memory.
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