Art Walaszek, MD, public health leader for WAI, was a guest on Wisconsin Public Radio’s “The Morning Show” to discuss the Alzheimer’s disease
drug aducanumab and its approval by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Aducanumab is also known by the brand name Aduhelm and is made by Biogen. On June 7, the FDA approved the drug for treatment of Alzheimer’s disease in limited clinical settings.
The approval is the first new treatment for a disease that has not had a new, approved treatment since 2003, and it has also brought needed attention to the millions of people impacted by Alzheimer’s disease, Walaszek said. The reality of the treatment, however, is there are important questions about its effectiveness and if it can be administered practically or affordably.
“We need to know more about what’s the actual, real-world impact of aducanumab; we don’t know the answer to that yet,” he said.
“I think of this as a next chapter. By no means is aducanumab a cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but it is a step forward. It’s another chapter in our understanding of how this disease works,” Walaszek said.