Lasmiditan Succinate

A meta-analysis of 137 trials of migraine drugs indicates that the newest class of treatments are less effective than the previous generation of triptan drugs in relieving acute headaches. A study from The BMJ indicates that the newest class of migraine drugs—which includes Pfizer’s Nurtec, AbbVie’s Ubrelvy and Eli Lilly’s Reyvow—is less effective in the acute treatment of migraines than a previous class of medicines.What's more, the newer drugs are no more effective in treating migraines than traditional headache remedies such as Tylenol, ibubrofen and aspirin, according to The BMJ's analysis.The study, a meta-analysis of 137 trials that together enrolled nearly 90,000 patients, indicates that the most effective treatments for migraine come from the triptan class. In head-to-head comparisons of the 17 drugs covered in the study, triptans demonstrated the best efficacy within 2 hours of use, led by eletriptan, which also delivered the best-sustained relief over 24 and 48 hours, according to the analysis.Eletriptan was brought to the market by Pfizer in 2002 and sold under the brand name Relpax. The next most effective medicines in providing relief at 2 hours were the following triptans (in order of performance): rizatriptan, sumatriptan and zolmitriptan. Rizatriptan is sold by Organon as Maxalt. GSK sells sumatriptan as Imitrex and AstraZeneca markets zolmitriptan as Zomig.“Triptans are currently widely underused, and access to the most effective triptans should be promoted globally and international guidelines updated accordingly,” the authors wrote. The BMJ analysis also concluded that the newest class of migraine treatments—which are called calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor (CGRP) antagonists—should only be used after traditional headache meds.“While the recent introduction of lasmiditan (Reyvow), rimegepant (Nurtec), and ubrogepant (Ubrelvy) has expanded options for the acute treatment of migraine, the high cost of these newer drugs, along with the substantial adverse effects of lasmiditan, suggest their use as third-line options, after the less expensive, similarly efficacious, second-line options," the authors wrote.While the BMJ study focused on acute treatment of migraines, new CGRP treatments have also been approved as preventatives. Nurtec pills, for example, were approved in 2021 for use every other day to ward off potential migraines. Much hope has been pinned on the effectiveness of CGRP drugs. In 2022, Pfizer spent $11.6 billion in a buyout of Biohaven to gain Nurtec, which rolled up sales of $928 million last year. Meanwhile, Ubrelvy, which was approved in 2019, generated $815 million in sales.Several other CGRPs—all approved in 2018 for the prevention of migraines—also remain formidable. Eli Lilly’s Emgality generated $678 million in sales last year, while Teva’s Ajovy pulled in $435 million and Amgen’s Aimovig collected $303 million. Besides those drugs, Lundbeck's Vyepti won approval in 2020 and generated about $250 million last year.

The deal includes a $175m upfront payment for Roivant’s subsidiary Dermavant. Image credit: Shutterstock / testing. Organon is set to acquire Roivant’s immuno-dermatology subsidiary Dermavant in a potential $1.2bn deal. Organon will pay $175m upfront for the business as part of the transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, as per an 18 September press release. Shares in both Organon and Roivant were down at close compared to their respective market opening prices on the day of the announcement. The bulk of the deal comes in the form of Dermavant’s plaque psoriasis treatment Vtama (tapinarof) The steroid cream is currently under review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a label expansion into atopic dermatitis (AD) – if this goes through, Organon will pay Dermavant a milestone payment of $75m. Based on how Vtama does commercially, Dermavant could also be in line for a further $950m of milestone payments. See Also: Pioneering ePRO and eCOA innovations for next-generation clinical trials Dermavant’s lead asset Vtama won FDA approval for plaque psoriasis in May 2022. The drug brought in modest US sales of $78m in 2023 for Roivant, though its quarter-on-quarter growth has been underwhelming. Whilst psoriasis affects eight million people in the US aged 20 and older, AD affects 16.5 million adults in the country, and a further 9.6 million children have the condition. An FDA clearance for AD would open Vtama to a US market predicted to be worth $13.5bn by 2030, according to analysis by GlobalData’s Pharma Intelligence Center. GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology. Vtama boasted strong results in a Phase III trial for AD earlier this year, with 51% of 728 patients achieving complete disease clearance following 48-week use of the cream. The supplemental new drug application (sNDA) would allow Vtama’s use in adults and children two years of age and older with the inflammatory skin condition – the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action is expected in the fourth quarter of this year. Organon’s CEO Kevin Ali said: “We look forward to combining Dermavant’s strong dermatology commercial and field medical organisation in the US, with Organon’s market access capabilities, regulatory expertise and worldwide commercial reach.” The deal follows several bolt-on deals by Organon recently, including purchasing US rights to Eli Lilly’s migraine medications Emgality (galcanezumab) and Rayvow (lasmiditan) for $50m in December last year . The deal was updated, giving more rights to Organon for Emgality, for $22.5m last month . While the Dermavant acquisition marks a dermatology expansion for Organon in the US, it also signals the second time in just over a year that Roivant has sold a subsidiary. Roivant earned $7.1bn from Roche when the latter bought its immunology company Telavant in December last year.