(Reuters) -Pfizer Inc will acquire overseas marketing rights to two migraine drugs from Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Co for up to $1.24 billion, the companies said on Tuesday.
The deal includes an upfront payment of $500 million for the rights to Biohaven’s rimegepant and zavegepant. The payment consists of $150 million in cash and $350 million for the purchase of Biohaven equity at a 25% market premium.
Biohaven will also be able to fetch another $740 million in milestone payments and receive double-digit royalties on the drugs’ overseas net sales from Pfizer.
Rimegepant, marketed as Nurtec ODT in the United States, has been approved for the acute treatment of migraine attacks and the prevention of episodic migraine in adults.
The drug brought in sales of about $136 million in the quarter ended Sept. 30, a 46% jump over the previous three months.
Biohaven has applied for rimegepant’s approval with the European Medicines Agency and several other regulatory authorities outside the United States.
Zavegepant is being studied as an intranasal and a soft-gel formulation in late-stage clinical trials for migraine.
(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Aditya Soni)
