AbbVie signs US$757M migraine drug licensing deal with China’s Brise Pharmaceuticals
The announcement comes two years after the companies began their collaboration, although neither has explained the delay in publicly disclosing the agreement.
USA—AbbVie has disclosed a licensing agreement with Beijing-based Brise Pharmaceuticals to advance two experimental migraine treatments, strengthening its pain management pipeline through a deal that dates back two years.
Under the agreement, AbbVie could pay Brise up to US$ 757 million in development, regulatory, commercial and sales milestones in exchange for exclusive rights to the two preclinical-stage programmes.
Brise will retain responsibility for discovery activities, while AbbVie will lead subsequent global development and commercialisation.
If either programme reaches the market, Brise will also receive an undisclosed share of future sales royalties.
Neither company has disclosed the drug candidates or their specific mechanisms of action.
However, Brise’s discovery platform combines small molecules and targeted antibody therapies to address pain pathways at the molecular level.
Brise CEO Guochun Li described the agreement as an important validation of the company’s drug discovery capabilities.
He said the partnership would help Brise increase the value of its research platform and reinvest in developing new medicines.
Migraine drug development attracts pharmaceutical investment
The announcement comes two years after the companies began their collaboration, although neither has explained the delay in publicly disclosing the agreement.
The partnership adds to AbbVie’s efforts to strengthen its position in the migraine market, where existing treatments have not fully addressed patients’ needs.
Although an estimated 14% of the global population experiences migraine, treatment responses remain inconsistent.
A real-world analysis published in Headache found that at least 56% of American patients did not achieve an adequate response to existing acute migraine treatments.
These findings highlight opportunities for therapies that could improve symptom control and address limitations in current treatment approaches.
Consequently, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies are investigating different biological pathways and drug mechanisms to expand treatment options.
According to GlobalData’s Pharmaceutical Intelligence Center, 67 clinical trials are currently evaluating medicines for migraine, reflecting continued investment in the therapeutic area.
One candidate is Kallyope’s elismetrep, a transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8) targeting therapy being evaluated in a pivotal trial as an acute migraine treatment.
Migraine market presents commercial opportunities
The commercial opportunity remains significant.
According to GlobalData, the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology, the migraine market across 68 markets was valued at US$17.2bn in 2023.
For AbbVie, the agreement provides access to two early-stage programmes without requiring it to conduct the initial discovery work.
The arrangement also gives Brise an opportunity to leverage AbbVie’s global development and commercialisation capabilities while retaining potential milestone and royalty income.
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