Biohaven will use the money to bankroll commercial preparations for the spinocerebellar ataxia drug candidate troriluzole, which is currently under FDA review with a decision expected in the third quarter.
Biohaven has secured a potential $600 million non-dilutive infusion from private investment firm Oberland Capital, which will help fund its clinical and commercialization efforts, the company announced on Monday.
Oberland will hand over $250 million once the deal closes, which Biohaven expects to occur “on or before April 30, 2025.” An additional $150 million tranche will be paid at the biopharma’s option and only after its spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) drug troriluzole secures FDA approval, plus other specified conditions.
The final $200 million balance will come once the parties reach a mutual agreement on certain “permitted strategic acquisitions and related costs and expenses.” In return for its investment, Oberland will be able to receive a regulatory milestone payment—which Biohaven can make quarterly through December 31, 2030—plus tiered single-digit royalties on net sales of troriluzole for up to 10 years.
According to Biohaven, Monday’s funding arrangement will help it prepare for the commercial roll-out of troriluzole, in anticipation of an FDA approval. The drug, an investigational modulator of the glutamate neurotransmitter, is currently undergoing regulatory review for SCA, with a decision expected in the third quarter.
Troriluzole’s prospects seem mixed. In September 2024, topline pivotal data showed that the drug candidate could slow patients’ rate of decline by 50% to 70% versus untreated counterparts. Troriluzole also delayed SCA progression by 1.5 years to 2.2 years.
On the other hand, in August 2023, the FDA refused to even review troriluzole’s drug application, flagging that a Phase III trial used to support that application had failed to meet its primary endpoint.
Oberland’s funding will also support Biohaven’s efforts across its developmental portfolio—a capital infusion that will help the company regain its footing in the clinic after a series of stumbles.
In March, Biohaven reported that its potassium channel agonist BHV-7000 failed a Phase II/III trial in bipolar mania, unable to elicit significant improvements in manic symptoms in more than 250 patients with bipolar I disorder. In November last year, the myostatin and activin receptor blocker taldefgrobep alfa likewise flopped in the Phase III RESILIENT SMA study, failing to significantly boost motor function versus placebo in patients with spinal muscular atrophy.
A few months earlier, in May 2024, Biohaven reported that its protein degrader BHV-1300 could reduce levels of autoantibody IgG in a Phase I healthy-volunteer trial. Investors were unimpressed by these data, however, sending the company crashing some 12% in its aftermath. At the time, analysts at William Blair said Biohaven’s findings fall “below the high bar” that many investors were hoping for.
