Veterans Affairs won ’t cover Biogen’s new “Alzheimer’s drug” given concerns over safety and lack of evidence

VA Health System Won’t Cover Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug (The Wall Street Journal): The Department of Veterans Affairs won’t cover Biogen Inc.’s new Alzheimer’s drug, the latest rebuke of the controversial treatment since it was approved earlier this summer. The VA decided not add the drug, called Aduhelm, to its formulary list of available medicines because of the drug’s risk of causing serious side effects and a lack of evidence that it improves cognitive function, an agency spokeswoman said. The VA provides medical benefits to more than nine million veterans, and is the largest integrated healthcare system in the U.S. The agency is known for being a shrewd customer of prescription drugs, using its large purchasing power to haggle steep discounts from manufacturers. By law, the VA has greater leeway than other government health programs such as Medicare and Medicaid to deny coverage of medicines it deems to be of poor value … On Thursday, the VA posted on its website a document detailing its review of Aduhelm and its decision. The document provides guidance to doctors not to offer the drug to VA patients, but allows for doctors to seek exceptions for certain patients. The Review: VA’s Review of Aduhelm’s Clinical Evidence and Safety (opens PDF). VA’s Projected Place in Therapy: AD is a progressive neurologic disorder affecting approximately 6 million Americans. More women than men are affected, and African Americans and Hispanics are at higher risk...
Source: SharpBrains - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Brain/ Mental Health aducanumab Aduhelm Alzheimer's drug Alzheimers-disease betaamyloid plaques Biogen cognitive-function FDA Formulary Healthcare-System improves cognitive function mild dementia mild-cognitive-impairment neuro Source Type: blogs