Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co. Ltd. announced this week it has completed enrollment for its Phase 3 trial of rimegepant for the prevention of migraines.
More than 1,600 patients have been enrolled in the trial, which will examine rimegepant’s safety and effectiveness in adults.
Trial participants include individuals who have suffered from migraines for at least one year and experience them at least four to 14 times each month.
Rimegepant is taken orally, and it is a calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist.
Vlad Coric, MD, CEO of Biohaven, said company officials are excited to complete enrollment in this latest trial.
“Given rimegepant’s high affinity for the CGRP receptor and its relatively long half-life, we believe rimegepant may possess unique “dual-therapy” action with a potential ability to provide acute treatment of migraine attacks and preventive effects,” Coric said in an announcement. “To our knowledge, rimegepant is currently the only small-molecule CGRP antagonist being developed for both the acute and preventive indications in the treatment of migraine.”
Robert Croop, MD, chief development officer for neurology at Biohaven, noted how migraines can be debilitating, with more than 90 percent of sufferers unable to work or function normally.
Croop said the company hopes to bring forward this new oral therapy, which “has the potential to give back to these migraine sufferers significant portions of their lives otherwise lost to disability caused by migraine.”
According to Biohaven, rimegepant has shown effectiveness and been deemed safe in prior trials. The company submitted New Drug Applications to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration for formulations of rimegepant earlier this year.
On Aug. 8, Biohaven reported financial information for the quarter ended June 30, 2019. As of June 30, its cash position stood at $465.7 million, compared to $217.4 million as of March 31. The company attributed the increase to net proceeds of approximately $281.1 million from its June common share offering. Since June 30, the company received additional net proceeds of $21.2 million from the purchase of additional shares.
The company’s stock (BHVN) was trading at $39.05 as of Tuesday morning on the Nasdaq exchange.
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Tangen Biosciences will unveil its new Branford facility at 20 Commercial St. at a grand-opening celebration Aug. 29.
The newly renovated 16,300-square-foot building will house Tangen’s technology, products, research and development and manufacturing operations. The new facility will be used to manufacture product for Tangen’s upcoming clinical trials later this year. The business is currently located on East Main Street in Branford.
Tangen has developed a rapid, sensitive and field-deployable device to detect pathogens. For more information about the company, visit its website at Tangenbio.com.
Michael Bingham contributed to this report. Contact Michelle Tuccitto Sullo at msullo@newhavenbiz.com
