Los Angeles (January 12, 2022) —
WHAT:
Following Medicare’s decision today about paying for a new Alzheimer’s disease treatment only in limited circumstances, Zaldy Tan, MD, MPH, a highly respected memory and geriatric medicine specialist at Cedars-Sinai, is available to comment.
Aducanumab, marketed under the brand name Aduhelm, is the first new drug since 2003 to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat Alzheimer’s disease. Medicare ruled Tuesday that it would cover the cost of the drug only for patients participating in clinical trials.
The majority of Alzheimer’s patients are on Medicare, and if the preliminary decision is finalized in April, it would put the drug out of financial reach for the majority of patients, said Tan.
“Clinical trials entail much more rigorous screening of potential participants to ensure they meet inclusion/exclusion…
