Shares of Irvine-based Allergan Inc. jumped Monday as Wall Street got its first crack at the stock after word Friday that the company’s flagship Botox drug was approved as a treatment for migraine headaches.
Allergan shares closed up 5% to a market value of nearly $22 billion.
On Friday, the Food and Drug Administration cleared Botox for treating migraines in patients who have 15 or more days of migraine headaches per month.
The move wasn’t unexpected and came after regulators in August asked Allergan for a physician training plan and other advanced details on Botox as a migraine treatment.
In July, British regulators approved Botox for migraines.
And earlier this month, a judge signed off a $600 million settlement by Allergan over charges the company misled doctors with its marketing for Botox.
The settlement was seen as a loose end that needed to be tied up before Botox could be cleared for treating migraines.
But investors still seized on the migraine news, seeing the approval as a major expansion for Botox, which is best known as a cosmetic treatment for temporarily removing upper facial wrinkles.
Botox also is approved for treating muscle and neck spasms, eye muscle disorders and excessive underarm sweating.
The drug had second-quarter sales of $360 million, or about a third of Allergan’s $1 billion in sales for the three months.
One analyst called the migraine approval a “watershed” moment, according to an Associated Press report.
Ben Andrew of William Blair & Co. said the approval could bring $1 billion in added Allergan sales within five years.
