Biogen to seek FDA approval for Alzheimer’s drug

Biogen, a biotech company based in Massachusetts, is planning to seek approval from the FDA for an experimental drug that targets the underlying causes of Alzheimer’s disease.

The company had previously abandoned drug trials for the solution earlier this year after one analysis showed patients weren’t likely to meaningfully improve, The Wall Street Journal reported. Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia that is expected to affect nearly 14 million Americans by 2050 and currently impacts 5.8 million. There is no cure for the disease, and it is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., according to the Alzheimer’s Association.

The FDA suggested Biogen conduct more analysis in June, and the agency provided written notes on Oct. 21 to Biogen, which then decided to seek approval “for what could become the first drug to slow Alzheimer’s progression,” the WSJ reported.

The movement toward approval comes at a time when numerous other drug companies have failed to find a drug treatment to slow or prevent Alzheimer’s. Biogen’s drug Aducanumab targets beta-amyloid proteins that form plaque in the brain and are believed to contribute to dementia, the WSJ reported.

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