Biogen’s stocks rise after FDA approves its Alzheimer drug

The US Food and Drug Administration approved Biogen’s (BIIB) Alzheimer’s disease treatment Aducanumab on Monday. This colossal news caused Biogen’s stock price to soar to a record high.

The stock BIIB, -0.12%, soared US$109.71, or 38.3%, to US$395.85, which is the highest closing price since April 2015.

Trading volume soared to 17.7 million shares, while the daily average trading volume in the past 30 days was about 1 million shares.

Earlier Friday, the FDA approved Biogen’s Aduhelm, also known as aducanumab, to treat Alzheimer’s disease, the first approved drug.

Aducanumab is the first new type of Alzheimer’s disease treatment approved in nearly 20 years.

It is also the first treatment for the underlying pathology of the disease, while other drugs can only cure the symptoms of the disease.

Biogen investors got the largest single-day price increase and the second-largest single-day percentage increase since its listing in September 1991. The stock soared by $108.62 on November 4, 2020, or 44.0%, after the FDA stated that there was “a lot of evidence” that Aducanumab was an effective Alzheimer’s treatment option.

How much might the Alzheimer’s treatment cost?

Although the pricing is still unknown, the Institute of Clinical and Economic Review (ICER) stated that the drug price should not exceed $8,400 per year due to the relatively small overall health benefits shown in phase 3 clinical trial.

Some analysts said that Biogen might price the drug higher, although this may trigger a regulatory response.

Evercore’s Raffat said his financial estimates for Biogen included $10,000, while Bernstein’s Gal stated that the final price could be “much higher,” possibly as high as $30,000 or more.

How did the news impact other Biotechs?

This decision may affect other companies in the field of Alzheimer’s disease. For example, Lilly has a new drug that targets amyloid-beta, called Donanemab. Biogen and Eisai are also working on a beta-amyloid-focused drug called BAN2401. Eli Lilly’s share price rose 10.2% to 222.52.

But many others are testing new ways to treat this disease. They include names such as Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL), Cortexyme (CRTX), and Athira Pharmaceuticals (ATHA). Athira shares rose 4.4%, and Anavex shares rose 7.9%. Cortexyme shares closed down 3.5%.

Like Biogen stock, ANVS and cassava science (SAVA) have also seen huge Alzheimer’s treatment news fluctuations. As a result, Annovis shares rose 7.4%, and Cassava shares rose 5.4%.

Biogen’s share price has risen 61.7% so far this year, while the SPDR Healthcare Select Industry Exchange Traded Fund XLV (-0.31%) is up 8.0%, and the S&P 500 Index SPX (+0.02%) is up 12.5%.