The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) announced it will leverage the recent approval of Biogen's aducanumab (Aduhelm) drug for treating Alzheimer's disease to lobby the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to reimburse beta amyloid PET imaging.
Positive beta-amyloid PET scans were key inclusion criteria in the trials that led to the approval of Aduhelm, which is designed to target and remove beta-amyloid plaques in people with Alzheimer's disease. Yet, amyloid PET scans are not mentioned on the drug's label as a requirement for prescribing it, SNMMI stated.
Aduhelm is the first drug that targets the underlying pathology of Alzheimer's disease rather than its symptoms. It was approved June 7 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
