Today’s article: https://www.fiercebiotech.com/biotech/impel-raises-67-5m-as-it-eyes-filing-for-nasal-migraine-drug
So Impel has managed to raise additional money for a delivery system that is called “POD” or Precision Olfactory Delivery. They look to deliver neurology drugs that already exist. Currently, the company is looking into Parkinsons and Migraines. The idea is fairly interesting. The machine pretty much turns the liquid into a gas so it can get into the upper nasal area where blood vessels are so it can be easily absorbed rather than swallowed. Furthermore, as it is a gas, they do not need to do any snorting. Currently, there are nasal delivery migraine products but they have a history of taking a while to begin to work.
As this is actually a medical device, it would seem that they can easily ride through. However, I don’t see any innovation in using DHE as this seems like something that has been used for a while and is somewhat industry standard. DHE needs to be consistently taken while the new products like Aimovig or Ajovy can be taken once a month and have no side effects. Furthermore, this is in an injectable pen so it makes me curious how this company intends to steal business from Amgen or Teva.
Questions:
How do doctors go about prescribing medication for those on migraines? Are there different severity of it and does it become progressively worse if gone untreated? What are the different targets that DHE goes for versus sumthing like Aimovig? What kind of promise did the investors see in this product in terms of the migraine market? Why doesn’t this company look to partner with companies that find their products difficult to pass through the blood-brain barrier? I can’t tell if I simply don’t understand their goals as much or if they are not aiming to make a best in class product that can beat out what is the current standard of care.
Medicine: Opinions? 