Biogen ’s Controversial Alzheimer’s Drug Was Connected to a Patient Death, Just As the Company Presented Its Final Study Data

To say that Biogen’s Alzheimer’s drug aduhelm is controversial wouldn’t do its rocky road to approval justice. To say it’s complicated is even less satisfying, given that the studies leading to its approval were started, stopped and started again. Add to that reports of questionable meetings between the drug company’s scientists from Biogen and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials that led to an ongoing FDA investigation of the drug’s approval, and it’s understandable that the drug that was supposed to change the way Alzheimer’s is treated hasn’t exactly taken the patient and doctor community by storm. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] And at least one death has been associated with aduhelm, according to the FDA, related to the medication’s known side effect of brain swelling and bleeding. The drug’s June approval was immediately questioned by many in the medical community, partly due to the questionable relationship between Biogen and FDA officials but also because many doctors who treat Alzheimer’s patients feel that the complicated data do not provide convincing evidence that the medication can actually improve patients’ declining mental functions. There is no doubt that aduhlem can reduce the levels of amyloid plaque, a sticky protein that builds up in the brains of patients, damages brain neurons and is believed to be responsible for compromising reasoning, memory and other h...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Drugs healthscienceclimate Source Type: news