How did Biogen price Aduhelm, and what did the investigation say about it?

Biogen launched Aduhelm at $56,000 a year, far above the $10,000 to $30,000 many observers had expected and well above ICER's estimate that a cost-effective price would be $3,000 to $8,400. The congressional report concluded Biogen set an unjustifiably high price because it saw the drug as an unprecedented financial opportunity, even though its benefit in the broad patient population was unknown.

Internal documents also showed Biogen knew from early pricing models that some Medicare patients would struggle to afford it, and that it planned to spend more than $3.3 billion on Aduhelm sales and marketing from 2020 to 2024, over two and a half times its total development spending on the drug. In December 2021, after weak uptake, Biogen halved the price to $28,200.