US FDA okays Biogen Alzheimer’s drug

US regulators on Monday approved Biogen’s aducanumab as the first treatment to address an underlying cause of Alzheimer’s disease despite controversy over mixed clinical trial results for the drug.

Aducanumab is one of a long list of drugs that have aimed to remove sticky deposits of a protein called amyloid beta from the brains of patients in earlier stages of Alzheimer’s in order to stave off its ravages, which include memory loss and the ability to care for oneself.