Amgen Announces Expanded Commercial Collaboration With Novartis For Erenumab In Migraine

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Amgen (NASDAQ:AMGN) today announced an expanded commercial collaboration with Novartis for erenumab, which is being investigated for the prevention of migraine.

This expanded commercial collaboration builds on a global neuroscience collaboration in Alzheimer's disease and migraine established in 2015 between Novartis and Amgen. This expanded collaboration leverages Novartis' strong and established presence in neuroscience to more effectively reach people with migraine.

The companies have agreed to combine capabilities to co-commercialize erenumab in the U.S. Amgen retains exclusive commercialization rights in Japan. Novartis gains exclusive rights to commercialize erenumab in Canada, and retains its existing commercialization rights in rest of the world. The companies will continue global co-development.

Erenumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody specifically designed to target and block the Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) receptor, believed to have a critical role in mediating the incapacitating pain of migraine. Positive data from a Phase 2 study and positive top-line results for two Phase 3 studies in migraine prevention were announced in 2016. Detailed results from the Phase 3 studies will be presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology and submitted for publication. These data will help support discussions with regulatory agencies, with filing anticipated in the second quarter of 2017.

Under the terms of the agreement, Amgen will receive milestone payments from Novartis expected to begin in 2017. Novartis will share U.S. commercialization costs with Amgen. Amgen will book sales of erenumab in the U.S., and will pay a royalty to Novartis on net sales in the U.S. Novartis will book sales in the rest of the world, excluding Japan, and will pay Amgen royalties on the net sales in those countries. Amgen will book sales in Japan, since it will remain an exclusive territory for the Company. Novartis will assume agreed upon remaining global development costs up to a cap and share global development costs thereafter.

"Migraine is a debilitating disease and today many patients are sub-optimally treated due to tolerability issues with existing therapies," said Anthony C. Hooper, executive vice president of Global Commercial Operations at Amgen. "Combining the U.S. capabilities of Amgen and Novartis in preparation for the launch of erenumab can create meaningful value over the life of this first-in-class program by enabling us to more effectively, and perhaps even more rapidly, reach people who live with the impact of migraine on a daily basis."

This is an expansion of a global collaboration with Novartis announced in September 2015 in neuroscience, involving joint development and commercialization of pioneering treatments in the field of Alzheimer's disease and migraine.

Erenumab is a fully human monoclonal antibody specifically designed for the prevention of migraine. Erenumab targets and blocks the Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) receptor, thought to be pivotal in the genesis of migraine. Erenumab has been studied in several large global, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies to assess its safety and efficacy in migraine prevention. Positive results from a Phase 2 study and positive top-line data from two Phase 3 studies in migraine prevention were announced in 2016. These data will help support discussions with regulatory agencies, with filings anticipated in 2017.