Biogen Stock: Alzheimer’s Drug, Hope Is Not Enough (NASDAQ:BIIB) | Seeking Alpha

[anonymous]

Biogen Stock: Alzheimer’s Drug, Hope Is Not Enough (NASDAQ:BIIB) | Seeking Alpha


https://seekingalpha.com/article/4457770-biogen-alzheimers-drug-approval-scrutinized

Summary

• The excitement from FDA approval of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm is subsiding.
• The FDA is being scrutinized about the approval, and key hospitals are not prescribing Aduhelm.
• The fall in Biogen share price reflects Aduhelm seen as not an effective treatment for Alzheimer’s; share price falls for Roche and Eli Lilly show pessimism about their Alzheimer's drugs.
• It is tough, but paying $56,000 annually in hope rather than reality seems to be where Aduhelm sits now.
• Investors interested in Biogen might consider Biogen’s portfolio without ascribing significant valuation to Aduhelm.

Sometimes it feels as if the US Biotech industry is playing chicken about drug pricing. The prices just keep going up even for drugs of questionable efficacy. Alzheimer’s disease is a terrible progressive burden that has resisted effective treatments. Biogen (NASDAQ:BIIB) has been developing monoclonal antibody treatments aimed at slowing disease progression. The story has been a roller coaster and, like many hard-to-treat diseases, the results of their new drug Aduhelm (aducanumab) have been less than exciting. However, the FDA approved the drug, but requires more trials, which if not successful might lead to the approval being withdrawn. The company has 9 years to establish further data on efficacy. Since the controversial FDA approval, an increasing number of hospitals have decided not to provide service for this drug.