Biogen’s Staggering $56,000 Price Tag for Treatment With No Proven Clinical Benefit Will Cost Medicare Part B Outpatients $21.60 More Per Month
Washington, D.C. – The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing (CSRxP) released a statement today on news that Medicare Part B premiums for outpatient beneficiaries will increase by $21.60 next year. According to Bloomberg Government, “Medicare officials told reporters on Friday that about half the increase is attributable to contingency planning if the program has to cover Aduhelm, a new $56,000-a-year medication for Alzheimer’s disease.”
“American seniors who rely on Medicare to cover their outpatient health care will now be forced to pay $21.60 more per month as a result of Big Pharma’s unjustifiable price tag for a treatment with no proven clinical benefit,” said CSRxP executive director Lauren Aronson. “Biogen’s egregious pricing of this unproven treatment is a case study in how Big Pharma sets out-of-control prices to maximize profits at the expense of patients, taxpayers and the entire health care system.”
“Aduhelm’s staggering price tag and its impact on Medicare Part B premiums should remind lawmakers of the urgency for solutions to lower prescription drug prices by holding Big Pharma accountable,” Aronson continued. “Without greater accountability, Big Pharma has demonstrated repeatedly the industry will always put profits above people.”
In an analysis, The Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) concluded a fair annual price for Aduhelm, barring major new evidence to support the drug’s efficacy, would fall between $2,500 and $8,300. Following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, Biogen set a list price of $56,000 for annual treatment with the drug. ICER estimates the Big Pharma company will stand to make more than $50 billion in annual profit from the drug that may bring little to no clinical benefit to patients.
Read more about how Biogen’s egregious pricing of Aduhelm added to the unprecedented momentum in Washington to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower prescription drug prices HERE.
Read what patient advocates, physicians and researchers, clinical experts, drug pricing advocates and even Wall Street analysts had to say following Biogen’s pricing of Aduhelm HERE.
Read CSRxP’s statement on the FDA approval and subsequent Biogen pricing of Aduhelm HERE.
Learn more about solutions to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower prescription drug prices HERE.