Satsuma Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Satsuma”, San Francisco, CA, USA) was established in June 2016 with the purpose of globally expanding the Translational Research business of Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories, Ltd. (“SNBL”) by developing migraine therapeutics¹⁾ consisting of dihydroergotamine (“DHE”) and SNBL’s novel nasal delivery technology, STS101.

Satsuma reported completion of enrollment and randomization in its EMERGE pivotal Phase 3 efficacy trial of STS101, a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in more than 1,140 migraine patients at 121 sites located across 32 U.S. states. Topline data is scheduled to be reported in the second half of 2020.

Additionally, Satsuma will be initiating a second Phase 3 trial, an open-label, multiple-administration safety trial (the ASCEND trial) in Q3 2020. Satsuma plans to submit a new drug application in 2021 based on the results of the EMERGE and ASCEND trials.

For more information, please visit Satsuma’s press release.

1) About migraine

There are currently an estimated 39 million people in the U.S., suffering from migraine headaches, and the market for migraine therapeutics is reported to have reached $16 billion in 2017 in the US alone. A large number of patients are relatively young, between 20 and 40 years old, and there is an existing need for quick relief of potentially-disabling headaches. DHE is effective for non-responders of triptans, which are currently first-in-line therapies; however, the current liquid nasal spray is slow to absorb, taking at least 30 minutes to take effect, and the product is regarded to be unreliable due to its variability in absorption and the relatively low blood concentrations it achieves. The Nasal DHE product using SNBL's nasal delivery technology enables fast and adequate absorption and is expected to meet the needs of patients.