Biohaven and Royalty Pharma Announce Funding Agreement Totaling up to $450 Million

- Biohaven will receive up to $250 million to fund zavegepant’s development in migraine and non-migraine indications

- Royalty Pharma to acquire up to a 3% royalty for zavegepant, a 0.4% royalty of Nurtec ODT and success-based milestone payments

- Royalty Pharma will purchase new Commercial Launch Preferred Equity from Biohaven for a total of $200 million payable between 2021 and 2024, providing additional funding for its CGRP-targeting franchise

NEW HAVEN, Conn.and NEW YORK, Aug. 07, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. (NYSE: BHVN) and Royalty Pharma (Nasdaq: RPRX) announced today that Biohaven has secured up to $250 million in funding to advance the company’s CGRP receptor antagonist program through the development of zavegepant (formerly known as vazegepant). The zavegepant program encompasses intranasal zavegepant as well as oral zavegepant for migraine prevention and non-migraine indications. In exchange for these funds, Royalty Pharma will obtain a 0.4% royalty on annual worldwide net sales of Nurtec ODT  and if certain zavegepant regulatory approvals are achieved, a royalty of up to 3% on annual worldwide net sales of zavegepant and success-based milestone payments. The success-based milestone payments range from 0.6x to 2.95x of the zavegepant funded amount depending on the number of regulatory approvals achieved for zavegepant (including 1.9x for the first zavegepant migraine regulatory approval) and would be paid over a ten-year period. Biohaven will receive $150 million at closing and $100 million upon the start of the oral zavegepant Phase 3 program.

Royalty Pharma will also provide further support for the ongoing launch of Nurtec ODT through the committed, non-contingent purchase of Commercial Launch Preferred Equity from Biohaven for a total of $200 million payable between 2021 and 2024. In return, Biohaven will pay to Royalty Pharma a series of equal fixed payments between 2025 and 2030 with an internal rate of return of approximately 12%.

Vlad Coric, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Biohaven, commented, “Royalty Pharma is an industry leader in funding innovative biopharmaceutical therapies and we are pleased to expand our partnership. This transaction brings up to $250 million in funding for zavegepant and will allow us to quickly broaden our CGRP receptor antagonist franchise into migraine adjacencies, non-migraine indications and new formulations across the globe." Dr. Coric added, "Our intranasal zavegepant is the first and only intranasal CGRP receptor antagonist with the promise to deliver an ultra-rapid onset of action for migraine and is also going to be studied in a number of non-migraine indications including the ongoing study investigating its efficacy in pulmonary complications associated with COVID-19 infection.”