Biogen Forecasts Gradual Launch For Life-Transforming Drug Spinraza

Biogen Inc. guided investors to expect a gradual launch of Spinraza (nusinersen) for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) during its fourth quarter sales and earnings call Jan. 26. The cautious outlook is notable because Spinraza is the first life-transforming medicine approved for the devastating rare neurodegenerative disease – not a drug entering a competitive therapeutic category.

But Biogen priced the drug at a staggering price, even by rare disease standards: $750,000 for the first year of treatment, dropping to $375,000 in subsequent years due to the lower dosing schedule. The antisense oligonucleotide, developed in partnership with Ionis Pharmaceuticals Inc., was approved by the US FDA on Dec. 23