Peter Bach, Craig Garthwaite argue Medicare should run its own aducanumab trial to guide reimbursement

With uncertainty looming over the clinical benefit and cost impact of Biogen’s newly approved aducanumab, Peter Bach and Craig Garthwaite argue in a Bloomberg Opinion piece that Medicare should run its own trial of the drug to guide reimbursement decisions, highlighting the challenges ahead for CMS.

There are over 6 million Alzheimer’s disease patients in the U.S., all of whom are eligible to receive Aduhelm aducanumab from Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) under FDA’s label. With an annual price tag of about $56,000 for the drug itself, no competition to drive down prices and high costs of associated medical expenses, the costs to payers and CMS in particular will be unprecedented...