From March 2020 through September 2022, Biohaven wielded meals at high-end restaurants and paid speaking opportunities to induce healthcare providers to prescribe its migraine therapy Nurtec ODT, according to the Department of Justice.

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.

Lady Gaga talks about her personal experience with migraines in the latest Nurtec ad. However, her partnership with Pfizer has sparked backlash among some of her fans.

Commercials for Quviviq and Shingrix topped a recent ranking of the most effective ads across English- and Spanish-language media last year.

Eli Lilly’s head-to-head CHALLENGE-MIG trial missed its primary endpoint Friday, failing to establish the statistical superiority of the company’s Emgality (galcanezumab-gnlm) over Pfizer’s Nurtec orally disintegrating tablets (rimegepant).

Biohaven had little trouble gaining approval in the U.S. and the EU for its migraine medicine Nurtec (rimegepant), as regulators have signed off on the medicine to both treat and prevent attacks.

Oral CGRP inhibitors made by AbbVie and Biohaven Pharmaceuticals are quickly gaining share in the migraine market. But unlike their injectable peers, the two oral options have their prevention labels limited to episodic patients. That might change soon.

Biohaven Pharmaceuticals is flexing its migraine share leapfrog over powerhouse AbbVie—thanks to Nurtec ODT's dual acute-plus-prevention nod and an aggressive digital-first strategy.

Digital ads across social media roll up Nurtec's double indication into one message—the same dose can treat acute migraine and prevent the next one.

Migraine sufferers in the U.S. found some relief over the past few years as a handful of new treatments came to market. The additions include a group of injectable drugs that help prevent the painful headaches, as well as a pill, Ubrelvy, which was cleared in late 2019 to alleviate migraines after they start.

Biohaven showed yesterday that not all launches by small companies end in disaster. And impressive second-quarter sales of its oral migraine therapy, Nurtec ODT, will only have increased speculation that the group could be a takeover target.

One company that might do well to consider buying Biohaven is Glaxosmithkline, which needs some fresh blood to placate the activist investor Elliott Management.