Sept 25 (Reuters) – The US Food and Drug Administration has approved AbbVie’s treatment for Parkinson’s disease in adults, the health regulator’s website showed on Friday.
The drug tavapadon, which AbbVie gained access to through its $8.7 billion acquisition of Cerevel Therapeutics in 2023, comes as a once-a-day pill.
It will be sold under the brand name Juvmo, according to the FDA’s website.
Parkinson’s is a long-term brain condition that gradually damages movement control, often causing tremors, stiffness and balance issues. More than 11 million people live with the disease worldwide, according to AbbVie.
Juvmo works by mimicking dopamine, a vital brain chemical that naturally decreases in people with Parkinson’s.
The regulator’s nod was based on data from AbbVie’s late-stage trial program which showed the drug improved symptoms in patients with the disease. Common side effects reported in the trials included nausea, dizziness and headache.
AbbVie did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the drug’s launch and pricing.
Citi analysts had previously said the launch was expected in the third quarter of 2026, but that uptake was likely to be gradual as negotiations progressed on the drug’s Medicare coverage.
AbbVie continued to target more than $5 billion in combined Parkinson’s disease sales, Citi added.
(Reporting by Kamal Choudhury in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Jonathan Ananda)
