“Patients are coming out of the woodwork now to get this new medication,” said Dr.
#MIGRAINE AFTER EFFECTS FREE#
After that, people with commercial insurance can get up to 12 months free while their coverage is sorted out. In the meantime, Amgen is trying to increase Aimovig prescriptions by giving all new patients two free 30-day samples.
The FDA is slated to decide in September on new drug applications from Lilly and Teva. Headache specialists say the new therapy should help validate migraine - a predominantly female disorder - as a debilitating disease with biological causes.įour other companies - Eli Lilly & Co, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, Allergan and Alder Biopharmaceuticals - are all working on potential rivals. In May, Amgen and Novartis were the first to win approval for the new type of migraine drug designed to interfere with a chemical involved in processes that kick off the severe headaches. Current migraine treatments are inexpensive generics or over-the-counter pills that might have side effects, or provide only partial relief for many patients. In the wake of public pressure from President Donald Trump, drugmakers including Pfizer Inc, Merck & Co Inc and Novartis have in recent weeks rolled back planned list price hikes, or pledged to refrain from raising prices.Īmgen, which will report quarterly results on Thursday, is relying on new medicines like Aimovig to offset declining sales of older products beginning to face competition from biosimilar versions.Īimovig has been shown to significantly reduce migraine frequency in about half of patients. New medicines are expected to triple the migraine market to $8 billion a year, mostly paid for by employers and the government. The migraine injection from Amgen, with partner Novartis AG, is the newest front in the battle by payors to control costs amid high patient demand for pricey new drugs. Kansas has none at all, although there are three in the Missouri side of Kansas City. Florida and Pennsylvania, for example, each have a couple dozen, mostly in or near cities. neurologists have such certification, and they are spread unevenly around the country. Plans including Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Florida, Pennsylvania and Kansas confirmed with Reuters that they will only cover prescriptions from - or in consultation with - a neurologist or headache specialist, and specifically a member of the United Council for Neurologic Subspecialties. July 26 (Reuters) - Amgen Inc’s push to get patients on its new $575 a month migraine drug before competition emerges in September is facing barriers from insurers.īracing for a flood of costly prescription claims for the drug, Aimovig, large insurers such as Anthem Inc have set requirements for patients to document how they suffer from a defined number of headaches each month, and show that they have tried older migraine drugs first. (Repeats to additional customers with no changes to text)
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