TriGemX Bio closes $94M for oral migraine drug’s Phase 3 tests

TriGemX Bio, the biotechnology company formerly known as Kallyope, has closed $94 million to move elismetrep through Phase 3 testing for acute migraine. In its Phase 2b study, adults took the experimental oral drug during an attack, and researchers measured pain freedom and symptom relief two hours later. The Column Group, TCGX and Viking Global Investors co-led the financing.

Elismetrep is designed to block TRPM8, an ion channel on sensory neurons involved in migraine pain signaling. The target is mechanistically distinct from the CGRP and serotonin pathways used by current migraine medicines. The candidate remains investigational and has not received regulatory approval.

The Phase 2b result gave the program a reason to advance, but not a clean win. In the prespecified electronic-diary analysis, 17.6% of participants receiving the 20-milligram dose were pain-free after two hours, compared with 9.1% on placebo. Its P-value of 0.065 was above the conventional 0.05 threshold. A supporting analysis that added interviews for missing diary entries produced rates of 19.6% and 9.1%, respectively, with nominal statistical significance.

For later trials, Kallyope developed a liquid-filled soft-gel capsule that it said was absorbed substantially faster than the formulation used in Phase 2b. The company expects faster absorption to improve early relief and performance at the two-hour endpoint. The pivotal studies still need to show whether that faster absorption translates into better relief.

The financing comes with a corporate reset. Kallyope, which in April described a broader focus on migraine and metabolic-disease therapies, has renamed itself TriGemX Bio and now says it is focused on elismetrep. Jeff Goater has become chief executive, while Aninda Katragadda has joined as chief financial officer.

TriGemX said on October 1 that its first pivotal study and a long-term safety study were underway, with a second pivotal study due to begin later that month. It expects initial results from the first Phase 3 trial in mid-2027.