As many as half of severe migraine sufferers do not achieve adequate relief with prescription drug therapy, and many of these patients may be candidates for emerging device treatments for migraine. Sales of migraine drugs in the U.S. total more than $2 billion per year, but some analysts believe that the potential market for device-based treatment may be even larger. The question at the moment is whether the devices in development can produce the kind of results that migraine patients are looking for. Clinical trials are currently underway on a number of fronts, and based on early data, the answer looks promising.

For this device startup, it looked smart to buy a marketing channel. But when River Medical bought troubled Ivac in an LBO, it got lots more management headaches than it had ever bargained for.