Eisai’s Alzheimer’s win starts a long path to commercial uptake

Friday’s accelerated approval of Alzheimer’s therapy Leqembi was a foregone conclusion; the question is whether it can achieve the commercial success that Aduhelm didn’t, and avoid such a massive blowback.

The road to commercial success may be long, as the therapy won’t see any real uptake until CMS revises its national coverage determination (NCD) on the anti-amyloid drug class, which it won’t do immediately. Partners Eisai Co. Ltd. (Tokyo:4523) and Biogen Inc. (NASDAQ:BIIB) will also need to convince doctors and patients that the benefits of the therapy outweigh the risks and logistical burdens. Given the debate around the clinical meaningfulness of the effect size, the sometimes fatal brain bleeding that can occur with treatment, and the need to travel to infusion centers every other week, the hurdles are high...