Two major U.S. health systems announced in mid-July that they will not administer an expensive, newly approved drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease. That action, by the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio and Mount Sinai Health System in New York, once again focuses attention on a fundamental question: Most of us already know that Americans pay the world’s highest prices for prescription medications, but are they worth the sometimes-exorbitant prices drug companies charge for them?
The drug in question, Aduhelm, was granted accelerated approval on June 7. It was approved even though 10 of 11 members on a neurology advisory panel said there was not enough evidence that the drug could slow cognitive decline. The drug is expected to be priced at $41,000 for the first-year of therapy and $56,000 for subsequent years.
In the wake of Aduhelm’s approval last month, three of the advisory panel members resigned. Among them was Dr. Joel Perlmutter of Washington University, a leading Alzheimer’s researcher.
