FDA approves AbbVie's once-daily Parkinson's pill from $8.7bn Cerevel deal

The US Food and Drug Administration has approved AbbVie's (ABBV) treatment for Parkinson's disease in adults, according to the regulator's website.

The drug, tavapadon, will be sold as Juvmo and is taken as a once-daily pill. AbbVie gained access to it through its $8.7bn acquisition of Cerevel Therapeutics in 2023. Juvmo works by mimicking dopamine, the brain chemical that naturally declines in people with Parkinson's, a long-term condition that gradually damages movement control and often causes tremors, stiffness and balance problems. AbbVie says more than 11mn people live with the disease worldwide.

The approval was based on data from AbbVie's late-stage trial program, which showed the drug improved symptoms. Common side effects in the trials included nausea, dizziness and headache.

AbbVie did not respond to a request for comment on the launch or pricing. Analysts at Citi had previously expected a launch in the third quarter of 2026, but cautioned that uptake was likely to be gradual while negotiations over Medicare coverage continued. Citi added that AbbVie continued to target more than $5bn in combined Parkinson's sales.