Market Indifferent to European Approval of Teva's Migraine Drug

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. has received European approval for its migraine-treatment drug Ajovy, the company announced Monday. The decision pertains to all European Union members, and also to Iceland, Norway, and Liechtenstein.

For daily updates, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here.

 

Teva closed 0.32% up on NYSE on Monday.

Ajovy, which received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2018, it is a preventive injection administered monthly or quarterly, also known as fremanezumab. Amgen Inc. and Novartis AG have a competing treatment called Aimovig while Eli Lilly has Emgality—all three drugs reached the U.S. market late last year with a wholesale price of $575 for a monthly dose and $1,725 for a quarterly dose.

Aimovig was approved in Europe in August 2018, while Emgality was approved in November.

Teva is experiencing a continuous reduction in revenues derived from its multiple sclerosis drug Copaxone due to generic competition in both the U.S. and Europe. The company has been banking on Ajovy and new drug Austedo, for Huntington's disease and tardive dyskinesia, to pick up the slack, but previously projected an increase of only around $150 million for its Ajovy revenues in 2019.