The Grünenthal Group will acquire rights to all dosage forms of Zomig zolmitriptan for the treatment of migraines and cluster headaches, including Zomig nasal spray, from AstraZeneca for $200 million up front plus up to $102 million in future milestone payments the company said.
The deal includes rights to market Zomig in all countries where it is approved except Japan. Impax Pharmaceuticals acquired a license for US rights to Zomig in 2012 and will continue to market the product in the US after the global rights transfer to Grünenthal.
Grünenthal CEO Gabriel Baertschi commented, “Migraine is a very debilitating disease with more than 75 million people worldwide suffering from attacks that can lead to sensitivity to light or sound, to nausea or even vomiting. The acquisition of the well-established Zomig products complements our existing pain portfolio. Migraine has been one of the very few main pain indications we haven’t yet been able to offer a solution for. This is an important step to reach our ambition to become a €2 billion company by 2022. It will also support our efforts to bring four to five innovative products to market in the same timeframe.”
AstraZeneca Executive VP, Global Product & Portfolio Strategy, Mark Mallon said, “Grünenthal is an established partner with expertise in the treatment of pain. It is well placed to ensure patients continue to benefit from Zomig and to extend the commercial potential of the medicine through its dedicated salesforce.”
Read the Grünenthal press release.
