Kardashian's back in Biohaven's new DTC campaign for 'all-in-one' migraine pill Nurtec

Biohaven is hammering home the “all in one” simplicity of Nurtec ODT to treat and prevent migraine in a new campaign that brings back reality star, influencer and entrepreneur Khloe Kardashian as celebrity spokeswoman.

The latest TV spot features Kardashian dressed smartly in a white blazer and turtleneck and shows her at work on her fashion line, presumably after finding relief from her migraines with Nurtec. 

It’s a contrast from the Kardashian seen in last year’s “Something Amazing” commercial, where she’s shown in loungewear on a couch eating popcorn and snuggling with her young daughter, True.

“This commercial and campaign was about showing Khloe as the successful businesswoman that she is, right in her element,” Biohaven CEO Vlad Coric told Fierce Pharma Marketing in an interview. "We wanted to show her confidence, her ability to be successful and live her life despite her migraine, and tell that story of empowerment.”

Kardashian is a real Nurtec patient and became the brand’s first celebrity ambassador shortly after Nurtec’s launch as an acute migraine med in March 2020. She continued to pitch the drug after it earned a second FDA nod as a preventive treatment a year later. As in previous commercials, Kardashian opens up in the new 30-second spot about her long struggle with debilitating migraines, which began when she was a teenager.

“There’s nothing glamorous about migraines,” she says, but adds that “with quick-dissolving Nurtec, I can get back to work fast, and prevent my next attack.”

The commercial incorporates a new Nurtec logo, which features a Nurtec tablet surrounded by the new tagline “All-in-One” above it and “Treat & Prevent” below. The tablet is prominent and appears to disintegrate, highlighting another feature that sets Nurtec apart from competitors in the crowded space.

Biohaven’s strategy from the beginning has been to differentiate Nurtec by combining treatment and prevention in one pill and appealing to patients’ desire for simplicity, Coric explained. He added that Nurtec is also the only CGRP migraine drug that dissolves in the mouth, allowing it to work faster.

“We’re really trying to highlight that differentiation,” Coric said. “Here’s a simple dissolvable [tablet] that treats and prevents your migraine all in one, and that’s really the message we’re trying to get across.”

Biohaven’s chief rival in the migraine space is AbbVie, which markets two separate CGRP pills—Ubrelvy for acute attacks and newer Qulipta for prevention. Other CGRP drugs marketed by Eli Lilly, Amgen, Teva and others need to be injected.

Ubrelvy has its own celebrity campaign with tennis star Serena Williams, and AbbVie wasted no time rolling out its first TV spot for Qulipta earlier this year. 

Coric said the latest DTC effort for Nurtec will be similar in scope to its launch campaign. In addition to appearing in ads on TV and digital platforms, Kardashian is promoting the drug in interviews and to her millions of followers on social media. Nurtec’s website and past ads featuring real-life patients Ellie, a college student, and Greg, a veteran, were also refreshed to incorporate the new branding.

The marketing push comes as Biohaven prepares to turn its migraine franchise over to pharma giant Pfizer, which is buying the New Haven, Connecticut-based company for $11.6 billion in a deal set to close by early 2023.