Medicare Limits Payments for Biogen’s Alzheimer’s Drug

Medicare will deny routine payment for Biogen Inc.’s Alzheimer’s disease drug Aduhelm, finalizing an unusually strict policy that will require patients to enroll in clinical trials so the government will pay for the drug.

The Medicare policy, which government officials announced on Thursday, is expected to significantly constrict the number of patients taking Aduhelm, as well as its commercial potential.

The policy will also apply to drugs that are cleared in the future for Alzheimer’s with a conditional approval, as Aduhelm was, and that require a lower bar of evidence than traditional approvals.

“We...