Aducanumab’s day of reckoning approaches

Biogen’s fortunes depend on it getting approval for its Alzheimer’s candidate aducanumab. The company's lacklustre third-quarter results, announced Wednesday, emphasised this fact.

The project faces an US FDA advisory committee on November 6, and the agency usually – but not always – follows the advice of its panels, so the outcome will be a big indicator of whether aducanumab will get the nod. But predicting which way the panel will swing is tough: on the one hand is aducanumab's unconvincing efficacy and safety, and on the other a dire lack of options for Alzheimer’s patients.