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The
drug, which has a list price of $56,000 per year, was approved
by the U.S. regulators as the first treatment to attack a likely
cause of Alzheimer's on June 7.
"We have serious concerns about the steep price of Biogen's new
Alzheimer's drug Aduhelm and the process that led to its
approval despite questions about the drug's clinical benefit,"
House Committee on Oversight and Reform said in a statement.
The investigation has been announced by Rep. Carolyn Maloney,
chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, and Rep.
Frank Pallone, Jr., Chairman of the Committee on Energy and
Commerce.
Biogen said it will "of course cooperate with any inquiry we may
receive from these committees," in response to a Reuters request
for comment.
At $56,000 a year, the Kaiser Family Foundation estimates that
Medicare could spend $57 billion or more per year on Aduhelm,
which is more than Medicare Part B spends on all other drugs
combined, the House Committee said.
Health insurers and the Medicare program will bear most of the
cost of the drug, whose price will vary based on dosage and
discounts.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the drug -
despite strong objection from its own expert advisory panel -
for all patients with Alzheimer's, although it has only been
tested for patients in the early stages of the disease.
Three of the 11 members of FDA's independent advisory panel have
resigned in protest over the agency's decision.
Shares of the drugmaker were down nearly 1% in after-market
trading.
(Reporting by Dania Nadeem in Bengaluru; additional reporting by
Juby Babu; Editing by Arun Koyyur)
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