The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued to the MAP Pharmaceuticals' US Patent No. 8,119,639, titled "Method of Therapeutic Administration of DHE to Enable Rapid Relief of Migraine while Minimizing Side Effect Profile."  

The patent, which expires in 2028, results from the company's discovery that dihydroergotamine (DHE) can be administered to achieve pharmacokinetic profiles that result in rapid efficacy while minimizing side effects that are typically seen with other migraine drugs.  The patent claims relate to pulmonary administration of DHE to achieve certain pharmacokinetic profiles. Levadex, which contains the company's proprietary formulation of DHE, is an orally inhaled investigational drug administered using the company's proprietary Tempo inhaler for the potential acute treatment of migraine in adults and targets the pharmacokinetic profiles described in this patent. DHE is a drug that is currently available in other dosage forms to treat migraine.

"The issuance of this patent adds further protection to the company's growing patent estate relating to our Levadex product candidate," said Timothy S Nelson, president and chief executive officer of MAP Pharmaceuticals. "This patent, which claims methods that achieve an optimal pharmacokinetic profile for rapid relief of migraine with an emphasis on pulmonary administration of DHE, further strengthens our proprietary position for Levadex through 2028."

MAP Pharmaceuticals is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing new therapies to address undermet patient needs in neurology.