Biogen Begins Layoffs Amid Disappointing Aduhelm Sales

Biogen has begun laying off large numbers of its workforce as the company scrambles to save $500 million amid lackluster sales of its controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm (aducanumab).

The company has not specified how many people it will ultimately let go, but the number could reportedly be as high as 10 percent of its workforce. In its latest annual Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Biogen said it had 9,610 worldwide employees with 5,645 employees in the U.S. and 3,965 abroad.

Despite carrying a hefty annual price tag of $56,000, Aduhelm earned just $3 million in sales last year. In January, the company halved the drug’s yearly cost to $28,200, in part to increase its chance of securing a favorable Medicare coverage decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in April. In a draft decision, CMS said it would limit Medicare coverage of the drug to its use in clinical trials.