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Biogen on Thursday mounted a vigorous defense of its controversial Alzheimer’s drug, Aduhelm, with the company’s head of research and development releasing an open letter to the Alzheimer’s community that took direct aim at critics of approval. Al Sandrock, the R&D chief and an architect of many of Biogen’s successes, wrote that the purpose of the letter was to correct “misinformation” about the drug. (Herper, 7/22)

Biogen executives used their earnings day to take aim at critics and the media, saying the federal approval of the company's new Alzheimer's drug, Aduhelm, "has been the subject of extensive misinformation and misunderstanding." Biogen has billions of dollars on the line with this drug, and uptake has been very slow so far due in part to the blowback. But the company's grievances don't change the fact that Aduhelm failed to slow the progression of Alzheimer's in late-stage clinical trials. (Herman, 7/23)

Biogen, which has listed Aduhelm for $56,000 a year, reported second-quarter sales for the drug of $1.6 million. The drug was commercially available for only a few weeks in the quarter. Mr. Vounatsos said it was safe to assume “a big chunk” of those sales came from pharmacies stocking up on the drug. (Walker, 7/22)

KHN: Facing Headwinds On New Alzheimer’s Drug, Biogen Launches Controversial Campaign

Do you sometimes lose your train of thought or feel a bit more anxious than is typical for you? Those are two of the six questions in a quiz on a website co-sponsored by the makers of Aduhelm, a controversial new Alzheimer’s drug. But even when all responses to the frequency of those experiences are “never,” the quiz issues a “talk to your doctor” recommendation about the potential need for additional cognitive testing. (Appleby, 7/23)