Amgen stock increases as its new migraine treatment won FDA approval

People who experience frequent migraine headaches may soon find relief with the help of a new drug ‘Aimovig’ that won the U.S. FDA approval. The new treatment, developed by Amgen (AMGN) in partnership with Novartis (NVS), is claimed to be the first of a new class of drugs targeted at treating migraine.

According to the Migraine Research Foundation, nearly 38 million Americans suffer from migraine. But the cause and effective treatment for this condition continue to stay as a mystery, due to which, the market for migraine drugs is enormous. Hence many drug companies are in a race to bring new solutions for treating migraine.

Amgen’s new treatment is an effective alternative for those who failed to find relief from pills or other treatments. The new treatment is said to be an injectable shot that is given on a monthly basis. The shot comes at a price of $6,900 if taken for a whole year (without insurance), or $575 for those who get the shot once a month. The drug is expected to be available within a week.

The new treatment, developed by Amgen (AMGN) in partnership with Novartis (NVS), is claimed to be the first of a new class of drugs targeted at treating migraine.

Since Amgen and Novartis are the first pharma companies to offer this new class of drug, they have a limited time to make the most of this advantage, as rival Eli Lilly (LLY) and Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) are also trying to win the FDA approval for similar treatments.

According to Thomson Reuters, some analysts expect annual sales of Aimovig to reach up to $1 billion by 2022. While Amgen holds exclusive rights to the drug in Japan, Novartis has Canada under it.

Shares of Amgen were up 1% in the first hour of trading today on the FDA approval. Last month, Amgen reported its quarterly results which topped analysts’ estimates. The stock is slightly up by 0.4% so far this year.