CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company, has reached agreement with the Food and Drug Administration's Division of Neurology Products concerning the development strategy for lasmiditan at a recently completed End of Phase 2 meeting. Lasmiditan is a novel therapy for acute migraine and will initially be developed to address major unmet needs in two patient populations who are poorly served by currently available therapies: 1) patients with risk factors for cardiovascular disease and those with diagnosed cardiovascular disease and 2) patients who have not had adequate efficacy from triptans. The development program will be confirmed via the Special Protocol Assessment process.
Lasmiditan is a first-in-class Neurally Acting Anti-Migraine Agent (NAAMA) designed to deliver efficacy in migraine without the vasoconstrictor activity associated with previous generations of migraine therapies such as triptans. Lasmiditan is a member of a novel chemical class called "ditans" and, unlike triptans, penetrates the central nervous system (CNS) and selectively targets receptors expressed in the trigeminal pathway. Lasmiditan does not interact with vasoconstrictor receptors on peripheral blood vessels which are activated by triptans.