Bloomfield insurer Cigna says it is working with the developer of a first-of-its-kind Alzheimer’s drug to help streamline access for patients once the medication becomes commercially available.
In a statement, officials with Cigna and Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Biogen Inc. said they intend to enter into a value-based contract to ensure that patients will be able to obtain and afford aducanumab, an infusion-based monoclonal antibody marketed by Biogen as Aduhelm.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved aducanumab for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, making it the first new government-recognized therapy for the condition in 18 years. It is believed to be the first drug ever to target the disease process of Alzheimer’s instead of just ameliorating dementia symptoms, though studies of the medication’s efficacy have turned up mixed results.
The FDA ordered that Biogen conduct another clinical trial, and the agency could revoke its approval if the drug is not shown to be effective.
Still, regulators and industry observers expect demand for aducanumab to be nearly overwhelming, since there are so few treatments for Alzheimer’s currently available and because the disease is invariably fatal. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 5.8 million Americans are living with the condition.
“Alzheimer’s disease imposes a tremendous burden on patients, caregivers and society as a whole,” said Steve Miller, executive vice president and chief clinical officer at Cigna. “Given the known infrastructure challenges in the U.S., we are working to ensure that the patients who will benefit most from this new treatment have a clear path to access it.”
Biogen said it plans to sell Aduhelm for $4,312 per infusion. At one infusion every four weeks — which the company considers to be a maintenance dose — the drug’s cost would reach $56,000 annually.
Out-of-pocket costs for patients would depend on their health coverage.
Biogen officials have said they are committed to making Aduhelm available to people “across a spectrum of financial situations,” and noted that, for qualified, commercially insured patients, co-pay and infusion cost assistance programs could reduce out-of-pocket expenses to as low as $0.
Biogen also announced Monday that it has entered into an agreement with CVS Health, parent company to Hartford health insurer Aetna, to promote cognitive screenings. The testing — administered as part of CVS’s outreach efforts to uninsured and underinsured communities — will be made available starting in September in several metropolitan areas, including Boston, New York City, Philadelphia, Providence and Washington, D.C.
