To Be Cost-Effective, Analysis Says Alzheimer’s Therapies Shouldn’t Cost Over $3,000 Annually

In order to be cost-effective relative to standard Alzheimer’s care, Aduhelm — the newly approved Alzheimer’s antibody — would have to cost no more than $3,000 per year, rather than the current $56,000 price tag.

“For a medication to be clinically impactful, it should be priced at a level that’s acceptable to the company that developed it, but is also economically viable in the U.S. healthcare system,” Eric Ross, said at the Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease meeting. “I think our work has shown that we’re not there yet.”

Ross and his colleagues conducted an incremental cost-effectiveness analysis of both Aduhelm (aducanumab) and donanemab, Eli Lilly’s investigational antiamyloid antibody.

The analysis took into account not only the cost of the drugs, but efficacy, the cost of the required brain imaging and the potential cost of treating the common side effect amyloid-related imaging abnormalities (ARIA). The analysis assumed a $56,000 yearly price tag for both antibodies.