After picking up the European rights to Eli Lilly’s Emgality and Rayvow late last year, women’s health outfit Organon is upping its migraine accord with the Big Pharma company.
Organon has expanded its agreement with Lilly to become the sole promoter and distributor of Lilly’s migraine antibody Emgality in Canada, Colombia, Israel, South Korea, Kuwait, Mexico, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, the company said Tuesday.
Organon will pay Lilly $22.5 million upfront to grow its territorial reach with Emgality, in addition to potential sales-based milestones, the company added in its release. Under the deal, Lilly will continue manufacturing the drug and remain Emgality’s marketing authorization holder in the countries.
The commercial expansion comes after Organon became the sole distributor and promotor of Emgality in Europe in February. Organon first picked up the European rights to Emgality and Lilly's acute migraine treatment Rayvow for $50 million in December.
Emgality, which is a calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonist, is indicated most broadly for preventive treatment of migraine in adults. In certain markets, the drug is also approved for migraine prophylaxis in adults with at least four migraine days per month, as well as treatment of episodic cluster headaches.
“We know that migraine ranks as the leading cause of disability among young women and we’re proud to expand our offering to more women and men around the world living with episodic or chronic migraine,” Organon CEO Kevin Ali said in a statement highlighting his company’s women’s health-focused mission.
While Lilly lists Emgality among its suite of key growth products, Rayvow—which is cleared for acute treatment of the headache phase of migraine attacks—has experienced weak sales since its 2019 approval. For all of 2023, Lilly reported Emgality sales of $678 million.
Meanwhile, Organon remains on the hunt for additional deals following its migraine pact with Lilly, the company’s CEO said on an analyst call earlier this year.
“It’s not a one-off,” Ali said of the deal on an earnings call in February. “There’s plenty in the queue that ultimately we can go after that are really nice opportunities for continuing revenue growth and [earnings] growth.”