Change at the top at Biogen after struggles with Aduhelm

Biogen is looking for a new CEO less than a year after its launch of its Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm largely fizzled

Biogen-Alzheimer's Drug (Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Biogen is looking for a new CEO less than a year after the launch of its Alzheimer’s drug largely fizzled.

The company said Tuesday that current CEO Michel Vounatsos will continue to lead the company until a successor is found.

Aduhelm was the first new Alzheimer’s drug introduction in nearly two decades. Initially priced at $56,000 a year, it was expected to quickly become a blockbuster drug that would generate billions for Biogen.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts, company has since slashed the price in half — to $28,000 a year — and Aduhelm’s rollout has been disastrous.

The federal government imposed tight Medicare coverage restrictions on the drug, which brought in $2.8 million in sales in the recently completed first quarter.

Biogen said Tuesday it booked about $275 million in charges from Aduhelm inventory write-offs in the quarter, and it would “substantially eliminate” its commercial infrastructure supporting the drug.