Novartis cedes US operations for migraine drug Aimovig to Amgen

Novartis will transfer previously shared US business operations for the anti-CGRP migraine therapy Aimovig (erenumab) to its partner Amgen, the companies confirmed to FirstWord Pharma on Wednesday. They said the move includes, but is not limited to, sales, marketing and medical support functions, but that Novartis will continue to maintain financial aspects of the US collaboration, including sharing commercialisation costs and receiving royalties on sales.

The Swiss drugmaker stated that the transition impacts all its US commercial and field roles supporting Aimovig, including brand marketing, and sales. The news coincides with a recent Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (W.A.R.N.) posted on the New Jersey state website indicating that 186 jobs will be affected at Novartis' location in East Hanover, NJ, as of September this year.

Novartis and Amgen said that the transfer of US business operations "will not have an impact on the distribution of, or access to, Aimovig." According to the companies, the move is not tied to Aimovig sales, but they expect it will "help enhance operational efficiencies in the increasingly competitive migraine space."

Aimovig became the first anti-CGRP therapy to prevent migraine in the US when the FDA approved it in 2018. Since then, the agency has cleared other migraine drugs, including Teva's Ajovy (fremanezumab), Eli Lilly's Emgality (galcanezumab), AbbVie's Ubrelvy (ubrogepant), Lundbeck's Vyepti (eptinezumab) and Biohaven's Nurtec ODT (rimegepant). Amgen reported sales of $66 million for Aimovig in the first quarter, below the $104 million some analysts were expecting, while Novartis said the drug brought in 31% more sales in territories outside the US, not counting Japan, at $47 million for the three-month period.

Aimovig legal dispute ongoing

Meanwhile, the companies noted that their new arrangement "does not resolve litigation that Novartis currently has with Amgen." However, they said two US claims that are being resolved are related to 2018 commercialisation expenses and the launch of Aimovig in the US, although "others remain pending."

Novartis filed a lawsuit against Amgen in 2019, accusing the company of trying to wrongfully back out of their Aimovig partnership and keep profits for itself. The complaint was in response to an Amgen notice that it was terminating the alliance, citing a "material breach" of contract by Novartis because the Swiss drugmaker's Sandoz unit had entered into a partnership to bring to market a potential competitor to Aimovig.