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Business Daily: Controversial new Alzheimer's drug in the spotlight

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19/08/2021 GMT

Controversial new Alzheimer's drug in the spotlight

BBC World Service - Business Daily, Controversial new Alzheimer's drug in the spotlight

The approval is under investigation. What are the consequences for patients?

The approval is under investigation. What are the consequences for patients and insurance?

After decades without progress, this June a new treatment was approved by the US Food and Drugs Administration - Biogen's Aduhelm.  Ivana Davidovic looks into why this process has been so controversial that is now under investigation by a federal watchdog.

Aaron Kesselheim, a Harvard Medical School professor, served on the FDA’s advisory committee that considered Aduhelm and voted against its approval. He explains why he decided to resign from his post and what consequences there could be for future research and also for Medicare and Medicaid for covering such an expensive drug.

Geri Taylor has participated in the Aduhelm trial since 2015 and both her and her husband Jim believe that the drug has slowed her decline.

Jason Karlawish - a practising physician, co-director of the Penn Memory Centre and the author of The Problem of Alzheimer’s book -  says that more money should be spent on providing carers for the vast majority of Alzheimer's patients and that people should not be forced to choose between cure and care. 

PHOTO: 3d illustration of the human brain with Alzheimer’s disease/Getty Images

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