A sad day for Alzheimer’s patients spilled over into the stock market as well. Biogen announced Thursday morning it will discontinue late-stage clinical trials for its closely watched experimental Alzheimer’s disease treatment aducanumab. The illness has proven notoriously difficult to treat, yet investors still were caught off guard: Biogen shares plunged about 25% in early trading on Thursday. Biogen...
Biogen will cease late-stage clinical trials of aducanumab, its experimental Alzheimer’s disease drug. Around $3bn in aducanumab sales were predicted for 2023. The news comes as the company faces a legal challenge to its multiple sclerosis treatment, Tecfidera, as well as growing competition in its biggest-selling disease categories. Biogen’s urgent need to generate growth may be good news for the pharma sector, as the company may need to invest in biotech acquisitions to populate its pipeline.