Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. and Pfizer Inc. announced a strategic commercialization arrangement for rimegepant in markets outside of the United States upon approval. Rimegepant is commercialized as Nurtec® ODT in the U.S., and is indicated for the acute treatment of migraine attacks with or without aura and the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. An application for the approval of rimegepant is currently under review by the European Medicines Agency and several additional regulatory authorities outside of the U.S.
“We believe this collaboration, which brings together the winning combination of Biohaven’s Neuroscience R&D with Pfizer’s industry-leading expertise and large global footprint will help accelerate access to rimegepant for patients around the world,” said Vlad Coric MD, Chief Executive Officer of Biohaven. “With this alliance, Biohaven Pharmaceutical and Pfizer believe there is an opportunity to change the paradigm in migraine treatment and potentially establish a new standard of care.”
Under the terms of the arrangement, Biohaven would remain primarily responsible for further clinical development of rimegepant and the parties will cooperate in regulatory activities to secure approval for the product. Biohaven will continue to solely commercialize Nurtec ODT in the U.S and Pfizer would commercialize rimegepant, upon approval, in all regions outside the U.S. Additionally, per the arrangement, Pfizer gains rights outside of the U.S. to zavegepant, a third generation, high affinity, selective and structurally unique, small molecule CGRP receptor antagonist, currently being studied in an intranasal delivery and a soft-gel formulation in Phase 3 clinical trials for migraine indications.
“We are excited to join forces with Biohaven in the fight against migraine and help those patients impacted by this debilitating neurological disease,” said Nick Lagunowich, Global President, Pfizer Internal Medicine. “We believe our legacy in pain and Women’s Health combined with our experienced customer-facing colleagues, will enable us to maximize this opportunity with Biohaven, potentially bringing a valuable new treatment option to patients living with migraine pain.”
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