Alder ended a patent dispute with Teva with a deal that will enable it to take its Phase III migraine candidate forward, while Sanofi restructures pair of partnerships with Alnylam and Regeneron heading into the J.P. Morgan Healthcare conference – where despite a flow of mid-stage deals, stakeholders are hoping US tax reform means bigger deals to come.

Amgen will be the first biopharma company to seek approval for a CGRP inhibitor when it submits a BLA for FDA approval later in the second quarter, but Alder, Lilly, Teva and Allergan are in the running for best-in-class status to treat unmet needs in migraine and other headache markets.

Amgen and Novartis revealed the first set of Phase III data for a CGRP inhibitor in the treatment of episodic migraine, potentially positioning the companies’ biologic erenumab at the head of the drug class.