Endo acquires migraine treatment, needle-free delivery system for $85M

27-Apr-2014 - Last updated on 02-May-2014 at 09:19 GMT

Related tags Migraine

Endo Pharmaceuticals, which previously lost a bid to acquire a migraine treatment, has now acquired worldwide rights to Sumavel DosePro (sumatriptan injection) for subcutaneous use, which is a needle-free delivery system for Zogenix’s migraine treatment sumatriptan for $85m (€61m).

Under the terms of the agreement, Endo may also make up to $20m in additional cash payments based on the achievement of certain milestones. In addition, Endo will assume existing third party royalty obligations on net sales.

Sumavel DosePro offers a needle-free delivery system to treat adults who have been diagnosed with acute migraine or cluster headaches. The device delivers sumatriptan just under the skin in less than a second as a jet of liquid. Compressed air is used to drive a piston which produces the liquid jet. In clinical studies, relief started within 10 minutes for some patients, with most achieving relief within fewer than two hours.

Sumavel DosePro generated $9m in fourth quarter 2013 net product revenue, down from $9.5m in Q4 2012.

The NDA (new drug application) for the treatment will be transferred to Endo, though Zogenix will maintain ownership of the delivery system technology and all manufacturing assets upon which Sumavel DosePro is based as well as retain responsibility for the entire DosePro manufacturing supply chain. For Zogenix, these assets are essential because of its plans to leverage the technology for other pain products in its arsenal.

This acquisition comes nearly four months since Endo was outbid by Teva in its quest to purchase a company specializing in migraine treatments. Teva purchased NuPathe’s transdermal migraine patch and related drug delivery tech for $144m (€106M) back in January.

Companies are increasingly looking to needle-free delivery systems and other novel approaches to deliver drugs. Back in 2011, experts predicted the market for needle-free tech would double in size by 2016. Demand for new delivery options for biologics is also expected to drive growth in the needle-free market.

"We are pleased to acquire the worldwide rights to Sumavel DosePro to enhance our branded pharmaceutical portfolio," said Rajiv De Silva, President and CEO of Endo. "We are focused on completing a seamless transition of commercial support for this currently marketed product that will leverage our existing commercial expertise in pain and migraine management and the current infrastructure of our branded pharmaceuticals business overall."

Ann Rhoads, CFO of Zogenix, commented, "Approximately $40 million of the proceeds will be used to eliminate our debt obligation with HealthCare Royalty Partners. More importantly, the remainder will add a significant amount of capital to support our commercial activities and expand our pipeline."