The Department of Veterans Affairs has excluded Aduhelm, the $56,000-per-year Alzheimer's drug made by Biogen and Eisai, from its list of approved drugs due to the drug's "lack of evidence of a robust and meaningful clinical benefit and the known safety signal," Endpoints News reports.
Why it matters: Some hospitals and health insurers have said they will not provide or cover Aduhelm, but the VA is the largest entity yet to spurn the drug.
Between the lines: The VA recommends against using Aduhelm for veterans, but will make exceptions for "highly selected patients" before covering the drug, STAT notes.
- Medicare's coverage decision is the most important, but that won't come until next year.