By Staff Report Thursday, September 29th, 2016

Thousand Oaks-based biotech giant Amgen announced positive data from a phase 3 study of a new migraine drug co-developed with competitor Novartis.

Amgen said in a news release that, after 12 weeks, Erenumab showed a significant reduction in monthly migraine days in patients with episodic migraines treated with Erenumab compared with a placebo. In the study, 577 random patients were given either a placebo or 70 milligrams of the drug once per month under the skin.

Patients enrolled in the study were experiencing between four and 14 migraine days each month, with an average of eight migraine days per month. Patients who took the drug saw migraines reduced by 2.9 days per month, compared to a reduction of 1.8 days for patients taking the placebo.

In June, Amgen released results from a phase 2 study that showed patients experienced a 6.6-day reduction in monthly migraine days for patients taking the drug. Adverse events were reported in 5 percent or fewer patients treated in the phase 2 study.

Erenumab is a fully human antibody that targets receptors which transmit signals that can trigger pain. By blocking the receptor signals, researchers believe they can prevent the onset of at least some migraine incidents.

Amgen and Novartis launched a global neuroscience collaboration last year aimed at developing and commercializing drugs that could treat migraines and Alzheimer’s disease.

• Contact Philip Joens at [email protected].