CEO Vounatsos, Aduhelm Commercial Team To Exit As Biogen Shifts Focus

CEO Michel Vounatsos opened Biogen, Inc.’s 3 May first quarter earnings call by acknowledging that he has led the company, and is leaving it, during a challenging period. Key among those challenges is the failed commercialization of Alzheimer’s treatment Aduhelm (aducanumab) – a launch that the company has now essentially shut down – which was widely expected to reverse the significant revenue declines that began during the current CEO’s tenure.

Vounatsos will remain at the helm until the board of directors completes its search for a new CEO, though the company gave no timeframe for when it might name a replacement. Biogen will also focus going forward on its later-stage research and development programs, while essentially ending commercialization of Aduhelm in the wake of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) final decision to cover amyloid-clearing antibody drugs cleared through the US Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval pathway only when patients are enrolled in clinical trials