Dive Brief:

Shire plc on Wednesday launched its recently approved attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AHDH) drug in the U.S., adding to its portfolio of treatments for the condition.

Mydayis, as the drug will be marketed, contains the same active ingredient as Shire's well-known ADHD med Adderall, but is formulated to help improve symptoms for up to 16 hours post-dose. Shire priced Mydayis at a wholesale acquisition cost of $271 per prescription.

While ADHD is more commonly thought of in the context of childhood or adolescence, Shire plans to target Mydayis at adult patients — a group Shire pegs as the fastest growing segment of the ADHD market.

Dive Insight:

Mydayis' (mixed salts of single-entity amphetamine) launch comes as Shire is weighing options for its neuroscience business, which accounted for about 18% of the company's product sales in the second quarter.

In an earnings announcement for that period, Shire said it plans to assess "strategic options" for the franchise, including a potential spin-off as an independently listed company. The review will be completed by the end of the year, the company said.

"It's way too early to speculate about the outcome of that particular strategic review," company CEO Flemming Ornskov said on an August 3 call. "But as I see it, one option could be two separately listed very strong businesses with strong cash flows, strong growth, strong profitability and strong pipeline."

Ornskov painted the review as a natural assessment of strategic fit following the acquisition of Baxalta and strengthening of the company's rare disease business.

Shire markets Vyvanse (lsdexamfetamine), Adderral XR (amphetamine, dextroamphetamine mixed salts) and, now, Mydayis for the treatment of ADHD.

Mydayis was approved in June to for use in people aged 13 or older. It's designed to be taken once-daily, using three different types of drug-releasing beads to deliver the active ingredient over an extended period.

At a cost of $271, Mydayis will compete with branded as well as lower-cost generic versions of extended release ADHD drugs.

But Shire believes Mydayis' more prolonged benefit will help uptake and sees the drug being used in combination with immediate-release ADHD drugs or other extended-release versions.

"We also know that more than half of adult prescriptions are taking more than once per day, with nearly 20% of prescriptions being either a combination of an extended-release product and an immediate release product or a combination of two extended-release products daily," Ornskov explained.