Biogen’s Japanese partner calls for global action against Alzheimer’s

The recent US approval of Biogen’s Alzheimer’s friend highlights the urgent need for a framework to test and treat a disease that is a “secret pandemic,” according to the head of its Japanese development partner Eisai.

Aducanumab, which will be sold under the brand name Aduhelm, is the first new treatment for Alzheimer’s disease for almost two decades, but attracted controversy in the US for its priced at $ 56,000 a year and questions about its effectiveness.

In an interview, Haruo Naito, executive director of Eisai, said the Japanese group and Biogen were preparing measures to make the drug more accessible. But he added that there was a need for countries around the world to legislate specifically to fight Alzheimer’s – as did the US National Cancer Act for the disease – to address the high weight of people and the disease. annual global cost of dementia, which is now estimated to be greater than $ 1tn.

“We don’t believe that Aduhelm will only treat Alzheimer’s disease fundamentally, but achieving that milestone will allow us to visualize the path on how we can achieve fundamental treatment,” he said.

According to the World Health Organization, there are nearly 10 million new cases of dementia each year, two-thirds of which are Alzheimer’s disease. Naito said the disease was a “secret pandemic” that spread beyond developed countries, such as Japan and the United States, to developing nations.

“It does not depend only on one or two pharmaceutical companies, but it is essential to have a much broader public-private framework to combat this disease and there is a sense of frustration that efforts have hardly been made on this front,” he said. added.

Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved aducanumab, Eisai’s shares have risen 45%, and analysts expected the drug to fully contribute to the year-end earnings by the end of March. 2024.

In addition to the cost of the drug, Credit Suisse analyst Fumiyoshi Sakai said possible barriers to the new drug’s overproduction status include the difficulty of reaching a definitive diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and the necessary specialized testing. to assess whether a patient is the right drug candidate. Suitable patients should also undergo an intravenous infusion once every four weeks.

Still, Sakai said FDA approval had increased the chances of future authorization of Eisai’s BAN2401, another Alzheimer’s drug that is being developed in conjunction with Biogen. Drugs from rival pharmaceutical groups Eli Lilly and Roche may also enter the market earlier than expected.

“Perhaps aducanumab is still the realm of an experimental drug, but as more data accumulates over the next few years, it will pave the way for the release of other drugs,” Sakai said.

Eisai has been developing drugs to combat dementia since the early 1980s and is best known for Donepezil, the most widely prescribed treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, which was originally developed as Aricept.

“If you look at us from any angle, we’re all related to dementia,” said Naito, the 73-year-old grandson of Eisai’s founder. “We have knowledge that has accumulated over a long series of failures and we have invested resources that are comparable to Big Pharma, so I think we are competitive.”