(Reuters) – Biogen Inc’s Chief Executive Officer Michel Vounatsos is stepping down, at a time the drugmaker is grappling with insurance coverage issues related to its Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm.
Vounatsos, who will continue in his role until his successor is appointed, was named as the CEO in 2016 and has been at the helm as Biogen developed and launched several flagship drugs including spinal muscular atrophy drug Spinraza, multiple sclerosis drug Vumerity and most recently Aduhelm.
Biogen was betting on Aduhelm, the first new treatment for the memory-robbing disease in nearly 20 years, to act as a buffer as its main revenue drivers face rising competition.
However, Aduhelm has faced multiple hurdles and in April the U.S. Medicare operator decided to limit the coverage of the drug under the government insurance plan.
Biogen said on Tuesday it was looking at substantially eliminating commercial infrastructure related to Aduhelm and plans for more cost cuts, in addition to the current program to save $500 million annually.
The company reported a 26% fall in first-quarter profit, while revenue fell to $2.53 billion from $2.69 billion.
(Reporting by Leroy Leo in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)
