Biogen surges 42% after stunning reversal sees it revive plans for Alzheimer's treatment
Shares of Biogen surged more than 42% on Tuesday morning after the company announced plans to seek approval for an experimental Alzheimer's treatment called aducanumab.
The company said it decided to revisit submitting the therapy for approval following a new analysis of the data from the failed trials and a series of discussions with the Food and Drug Administration.
Biogen's stock price charged more than 42% higher on Tuesday morning after the company said it would submit an Alzheimer's treatment for regulatory approval.
The biotechnology company said it decided to revive the experimental therapy, called aducanumab, following a new analysis of data from two failed clinical trials and a series of discussions with the Food and Drug Administration.
"We are hopeful about the prospect of offering patients the first therapy to reduce the clinical decline of Alzheimer's disease and the potential implication of these results for similar approaches targeting amyloid beta," Biogen CEO Michel Vounatsos said in a press release.
The treatment was almost abandoned in March after its major clinical trial was written off as a failure — a development that sent shares plunging 29% in a single session.
But Biogen said that it reviewed a larger data set from the trial and that the treatment showed promising results.
"Patients who received aducanumab experienced significant benefits on measures of cognition and function such as memory, orientation, and language," the company said in the press release.
After conferring with the FDA, Biogen said it intends to file an application for the treatment in early 2020.
Oct. 22, 2019
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