Active ingredient: erenumab-aooe
Disease: migraine
Peak sales estimate: $1.2 billion
Approved: May 17
Company: Amgen and Novartis
The scoop: Amgen and Novartis inaugurated a new class of highly anticipated migraine drugs called CGRP inhibitors with their May FDA approval for Aimovig. With the first-in-class nod, the partners secured a chance to set initial pricing in the field and rolled out their drug with a list price of $6,900 per year. The figure came in lower than the $8,000 to $10,000 that some market watchers had warned against, winning the drugmakers praise. After Aimovig’s May approval, rival drugs from Teva and Eli Lilly won FDA approvals in September. Already since the approvals, Amgen and Eli Lilly picked up an important coverage win from Express Scripts, which opted to shut out Teva’s Ajovy. — Eric Sagonowsky
