(Reuters) – Biohaven Pharmaceutical said on Monday its intranasal spray for migraine met the main goals in the drugmaker’s late-stage study, showing rapid pain relief.
The study, involving 1,405 adults, demonstrated that the drug, zavegepant, was superior to placebo in relieving pain and most other “bothersome” symptoms including nausea or sensitivity to light or sound, the company said.
A single intranasal dose of the drug helped relieve pain as early as 15 minutes, lasting for 48 hours after the treatment, Biohaven said.
Around one billion people worldwide suffer from migraine, according to the Migraine Research Foundation.
Biohaven’s Nurtec ODT, has already been approved for the treatment and prevention of migraine in the United States. Other drugs for treatment include AbbVie’s Ubrelvy and Impel NeuroPharma’s recently approved intranasal spray, Trudhesa.
Pfizer Inc would acquire overseas marketing rights to zavegepant and rimegepant, branded as Nurtec ODT, from Biohaven, the companies said last month.
Biohaven said it plans to file a marketing application for zavegepant with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the first quarter of next year.
(Reporting by Amruta Khandekar)