Pfizer Acquires Biohaven Pharmaceutical for $11.6 Billion in Cash

Pfizer Inc. and Biohaven Pharmaceutical announced that Pfizer will acquire Biohaven for $11.6 billion in cash after years of collaborative drug development, improving access to medicine used to treat migraines. Pfizer had already owned a portion of Biohaven before this new agreement, and the acquisition will transfer ownership of several drugs to Pfizer for future commercialization.

According to the announcement, Pfizer will obtain rights to commercialize NURTEC ODT, a compound used to treat acute migraine, and another migraine medication called zavegepant. The public company created through Pfizer’s acquisition — New Biohaven — will continue to focus on migraine treatment drug development.

In a press statement, Nick Lagunowich, global president of Pfizer Internal Medicine, commented on the unique nature of the migraine drug market. “Today’s announcement builds on our legacy of delivering breakthroughs for patients living with complex pain disorders and diseases that disproportionately impact women.”

Zavegepant and NURTEC ODT were developed and commercialized as a part of a collaboration between the two companies in 2021. The partnership focused on improving access to medicine for the underserved population of patients who struggle with migraines.

Drug pricing for brand-name migraine medications rose in the late 2010s until several generic drugs entered the marketplace. Pfizer’s purchase of Biohaven will impact this market, giving the company a large stake in the unique class of drugs called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists.

Pharma company Eli Lilly has also achieved success with the pharmaceutical drug development of a CGRP migraine therapy, receiving FDA approval in 2019 for its drug Emgality.

The list price for Pfizer’s NURTEC ODT is around $900, while Lilly’s Emgality is listed at $652.

CGRPs are molecules produced in the brain that were first discovered in the 1980s. Pharmaceutical companies have leveraged these molecules and developed targeted therapies that stop them from being activated during migraines. The drugs produced that take advantage of this process are usually injectable treatments administered at the outset of a migraine.

To obtain CGRP medications like Lilly and Pfizer’s, patients usually need to undergo a lengthy process, including trying other drugs first. For migraine sufferers, the process can be a painful barrier to treatment.

Receiving prior authorization for migraine treatments can involve multiple steps, and manufacturers sometimes cover copays as the process occurs. Access to these medicines is occasionally denied by insurers in cases where the payer feels patients have not tried cheaper alternatives. Since many of these drugs are relatively new, it is also common that an insurance company will not include the treatment in its formulary.