Amgen gets approval for migraine drug

Sufferers of migraine headaches may get relief from Amgen’s latest drug, Aimovig.

The drugmaker got approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the first drug in a new class aimed at preventing migraine headaches.

The drug is administered on a monthly basis via injection.

The price will be $6,900 per year or $575 per month.

That is actually less than the $10,000 a year prices that Wall Street analysts had expected.

The high cost of drugs was addressed by President Trump last week.

Trump blasted drugmakers and those he called “middlemen” for making drugs unaffordable.

Last month, Express Scripts, the largest U.S. manager of prescription benefits, said it was pressing drugmakers to give up on the usual plan of setting a high U.S. list price, then lowering the cost for health plans through hefty rebates.

Wall Street analysts expected the pricing of the Amgen drug to set the tone for that new class of drugs.

Companies including Teva Pharmaceuticals, Eli Lilly and Alder Biopharmaceuticals are developing similar treatments.