Leading US pharmacy benefits manager CVS Health Corp has agreed to grant coverage to Ajovy, the new migraine treatment of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (NYSE: TEVA; TASE: TEVA). CVS is also covering the new rival migraine drug of Eli Lilly but not the rival treatment from Amgen Inc, a CVS spokeswoman told "Reuters."
Inclusion on the preferred drugs lists by the largest pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and health insurers is seen as critically important for sales of new medicines. For Teva, approval by CVS offsets last month's rejection of Ajovy by Express Scripts, one of the other large PBMs in the US.
However, "Reuters" reports that Express Scripts has softened its attitude to Ajovy and it may now appear on some coverage lists, but likely with a higher out-of-pocket cost, Express Scripts said.
About 39 million Americans suffer from migraine headaches, according to the Migraine Research Foundation, and global migraine drug sales could reach $8.7 billion by 2026, according to analytics firm GlobalData, "Reuters" reports.
Teva’s Ajovy and Lilly’s Emgality will be available to members who have tried and failed to be helped by other preventive migraine treatments, CVS spokeswoman Christine Cramer said in an emailed statement to "Reuters."
A Teva spokeswoman told "Reuters" that 60% of commercial patients now have access to Ajovy through covered drug lists and that discussions are continuing with other national and regional payers.
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on January 27, 2019
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