Lay off 186 people!

Novartis and Amgen were the first pharmaceutical companies to enter the CGRP field through the migraine drug Aimovig, but shortly after the drug was launched, the two parties filed a lawsuit against each other.
In addition, competition caused by the listing of the same type of drug also rushed into the face
.

Now, as the migraine market becomes more and more crowded, Novartis has decided to transfer the business of Aimovig in the United States to Amgen

On Tuesday, a Novartis spokesperson said that Novartis will transfer the previously shared Aimovig's joint business operations in the United States to Amgen, including but not limited to sales, marketing and medical support functions
.

Therefore, Novartis decided to reduce the company's original 186 jobs to support Aimovig

The layoffs will take effect in September this year and were initially submitted on the state’s worker adjustment and retraining notice website
.

A Novartis spokesperson said that streamlining employees will "improve operational efficiency in the increasingly competitive migraine field

Aimovig is a fully humanized monoclonal antibody that targets and blocks the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor.
It is also the first approved preventive migraine drug
.

In 2018, it brought Amgen US$119 million in sales revenue.

Amgen immediately filed a lawsuit, arguing that Novartis violated the cooperation agreement by helping to bring Aimovig's potential competitors to the market
.

The details are that Novartis' generics division Sandoz and Alder Bio Pharmaceuticals have developed a CGRP drug called eptinezumab in cooperation with Alder Bio Pharmaceuticals

Regarding this adjustment, a Novartis spokesperson said that Novartis’s latest move is to improve efficiency and “does not resolve the current lawsuit between Novartis and Amgen
.

” The Swiss drugmaker said that in the US lawsuit against Amgen, two claims related to commercialization costs and the drug's listing will be resolved, while other claims are still pending

Although Aimovig may be the first preventive CGRP-targeted migraine therapy approved by the FDA in 2018, a series of competing therapies have emerged in the field since then
.

In the injectable monoclonal antibody market, Aimovig has encountered competition from Teva Ajovy and Eli Lilly Emgality

       At the same time, Biohaven Pharmaceutical's oral Nurtec ODT became the first FDA-approved option for migraine prevention and treatment in late May
.

In addition, the FDA is also reviewing AbbVie's oral drug called atogepant for the prevention of migraines.

       The layoffs may also be part of a four-year restructuring process initiated by Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan in 2018
.
At that time, Narasimhan outlined a streamlining plan to reduce the overall size of the company by at least 19% by 2022, from 124,000 employees to less than 100,000
.
Currently, this pharmaceutical company has approximately 110,000 employees worldwide
.

       Reference source: Slashing 186 jobs, Novartis hands off US sales, marketing duties for migraine med Aimovig to Amgen