Eisai/Biogen’s Leqembi Will Launch Below Aduhelm At $26,500 Per Year

Available For Commercially Insured Patients By Mid-Month

With accelerated approval granted and a supplemental filing for full approval in the FDA's hands, Eisai set a price it says is below the “societal value” its Alzheimer’s drug provides as it prepares to seek Medicare coverage. Labeling notably comes with no black box warning or safety restrictions despite various concerns.

Brown price tag on wooden background
Eisai determined Leqembi's "societal value" is as high as $37,600 but set its list price at $26,500 • Source: Shutterstock

Eisai Co., Ltd. and Biogen, Inc. will launch their amyloid protofibril-targeting antibody Leqembi (lecanemab), which won accelerated approval from the US Food and Drug Administration on 6 January for treatment of early Alzheimer’s disease, with a different approach to pricing than the partners used for their earlier anti-amyloid antibody, Aduhelm (aducanumab), which the FDA cleared a year and a half ago under the accelerated approval pathway but never gained traction with prescribers and payers.

Eisai leads the commercialization effort and will bring Leqembi to market with a strategy that seems to reflect lessons learned...

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