Doctors Shouldn't Get Rich From an Unproven Alzheimer's Drug
The high cost of Biogen’s newly approved and controversial treatment will be compounded by a misguided Medicare policy that incentivizes doctors to prescribe the priciest medicines.
Doctors stand to make a lot of money from Medicare if they prescribe Biogen's unproven $56,000 Alzheimer's treatment.
Photographer: FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval last week of Biogen Inc.’s Alzheimer's treatment aducanumab was a mistake based on weak evidence. The question now is just how much the U.S. will spend on a drug that may not help patients. No one but Biogen will like the answer.
Biogen priced its drug at about $56,000 a year, which is exceptionally high for a medicine targeting a large population like the 6 million Americans believed to have Alzheimer’s. But that’s not all: A misguided bit of U.S. health-care policy will compound the burden of its price.