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Pfizer said on Tuesday it will pay $11.6 billion to buy Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, making a big bet on its ability to boost sales of the top-selling pill in a new class of migraine drugs. The boards of both companies have approved the deal, they said. Biohaven shares jumped 70 per cent to $141.31, while Pfizer was up slightly at $48.83. Pfizer is flush with cash from a once-in-a-lifetime surge in revenue from Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics and has said it is looking to buy companies or drugs that could add at least $25 billion in annual sales by the end of the decade. "The CGRP oral medications, though still somewhat newer entrants in a deeply entrenched space, continue to make steady inroads in disrupting the broader migraine market in the U.S.," said BioHaven chief executive Vlad Coric. Biohaven forecast Nurtec sales of $825 million to $900 million in 2022. Pfizer said it expects the pills to eventually overtake the shots.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has released conclusive draft guidance, suggesting Pfizer's Vydura (rimegepant) as a choice for treating acute migraines in adults with or without aura. However, there is a caveat. This recommendation applies exclusively to individuals with a prior history of migraines, meeting one of the following criteria: At least 2 triptans were tried and they did not work well enough or Triptans were contraindicated or not tolerated, and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and paracetamol were tried but did not work well enough. This drug was developed by the US-based Biohaven Pharmaceuticals, acquired by Pfizer in 2022, in an $11.6 billion deal. Nurtec ODT is the commercial name for the drug in the US, while the European Union approved the drug under the name Vydura in April 2022. NICE recommended rimegepant, an oral lyophilisate (dissolving wafer) and the first oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist for acute migraine treatment, to be taken at the onset of a migraine attack. Migraine affects one in seven people in the UK, often with a debilitating impact, Pfizer UK said in a statement. The condition entails symptoms such as head pain, vomiting, nausea, altered vision, fatigue, and heightened sensitivity to light, sound, and odours.