STAT+: Biogen’s big day is a Wall Street windfall for biotechs in Alzheimer’s
As Biogen soared Monday on the surprise Food and Drug Administration approval of its hotly debated treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, investors bid up the shares of would-be competitors large and small.
Eli Lilly was the biggest beneficiary, rising nearly 12% and adding more than $20 billion in market capitalization. Like Biogen’s drug, called Aduhelm, Lilly’s most advanced Alzheimer’s treatment targets toxic brain plaques called beta amyloid. AC Immune, a Swiss biotech company with a once-failed amyloid treatment of its own, rose about 26%. Prothena, which has an amyloid-targeting drug in early-stage development, went up 27%.
