A quartet of companies on May 2 announced three complete response letters (CRLs) that left them scrambling to get back on the path to approval. Hutchmed Ltd.'s surufatinib met with word from the U.S. FDA that two positive phase III studies in China and a bridging study in the U.S. would not support approval of the drug for pancreatic and extra-pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. A multi-regional clinical trial in the U.S. is needed, the regulator said, brushing aside China-only studies when seeking a U.S. approval.
Impel Neuropharma Inc. presented multiple abstracts affirming the effectiveness of Trudhesa (dihydroergotamine mesylate) nasal spray in treating migraine attacks. The data – all subsets from the phase III, open-label, pivotal STOP-301 trial – show that acute use of Trudhesa delivered via Impel’s Precision Olfactory Delivery (POD) technology may enhance patients’ quality of life by reducing migraine-associated disability, prolonging headache-free periods and limiting the number of migraine attacks over time.
Cefaly Technology sprl reported results from a phase III clinical trial showing that two-hour treatment with its Cefaly Dual external trigeminal nerve stimulation (e-TNS) device is a safe and effective nonpharmaceutical option for acute migraine treatment in a nonhospital setting.
In the Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd. and Pfizer Inc. collaboration to commercialize Nurtec ODT (rimegepant) outside the U.S., Biohaven will receive tiered double-digit royalties on ex-U.S. net sales as well as milestone payments of up to $1.24 billion. The target: more than 1 billion migraine sufferers worldwide with lots of clinical competition.
With the FDA approval of Abbvie Inc.’s Qulipta (atogepant) to prevent episodic migraine in adults, the oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist became the first specifically developed for preventing migraine.
The FDA has approved Trudhesa (dihydroergotamine mesylate [DHE]; INP-104) from Impel Neuropharma Inc. for treating acute migraine headaches with or without aura in adults. The approval comes as several competitors, including Axsome Therapeutics Inc and Abbvie Inc., have NDAs submitted or approved for new therapies to treat migraine.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit didn’t change a thing in a trio of rulings stemming from Eli Lilly and Co.’s inter partes review challenges of several patents protecting Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s migraine drug, Ajovy (fremanezumab).
The second oral CGRP antagonist to win FDA approval for acute migraine care is now the first to add preventive treatment to its label, marking a valuable win for Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd. and its oral dissolving tablet, Nurtec (rimegepant). The U.S. approval, for preventive treatment of episodic migraine, officially blesses a use for the medicine already adopted by many doctors, Piper Sandler analyst Christopher Raymond wrote, while opening up a potentially rich new stream of revenue for Biohaven.
TORONTO – For Scott Kadwell, president of Markham, Ontario-based RSK Medical Inc., the distributor tagged to sell the Health Canada approved Gammacore Sapphire, the device represents “a shift from a business to business to a direct-to-consumer business model.” For Rockaway, N.J.’s Electrocore Inc. which developed the self-administered technology, it’s one more regulator to have greenlighted the FDA cleared, CE-marked device for treating intractable migraine and cluster headache.
Neurolief Ltd. received FDA clearance for its Relivion system for home treatment of acute migraine. The noninvasive multichannel brain neuromodulation system, worn as a headset, stimulates the occipital and trigeminal nerves.
