Nerivio by Theranica: status and timeline

Nerivio

Give people with migraine a drug-free treatment with no systemic side effects, usable by children, women of childbearing age and people who cannot take migraine drugs, by switching on the brain's own pain-control circuit.

ScalingStage 5 of 5

FDA-cleared from age 8 for acute and preventive use; >1M US treatments; approved in China 2025

Updated 4 Feb 2026Checked 11 Oct0 updates this week

Milestones

No announced next step

FDA De Novo for acute migraine (adults)28 May 2019Complete.
FDA clearance extended to adolescents 12+25 Jan 2021Complete.
$45M Series C first close29 Aug 2022Complete.
China NMPA approval (adults, acute)11 Aug 2025Complete.
US coverage reaches ~130M lives4 Feb 2026Complete.

Most important updates

Current obstacles

Not everyone respondsIn the pivotal trial 66.7% had pain relief at two hours versus 38.8% with placebo, so a sizable minority get little benefit.
Insurance accessAs a prescribed device it relies on payers; coverage grew to about 130 million US lives by 2026, largely via Blue Cross Blue Shield plans.

Physics limits

High placebo response in migraineMigraine trials show large placebo effects (38.8% in Nerivio's pivotal placebo arm), and a felt stimulation is hard to blind, so the true device effect is hard to measure precisely.
An indirect lever on painThe device relies on the brain's own pain-inhibition circuit, which varies between people and weakens in some chronic pain states, capping how strong the effect can be.

How it works

3 parts

Placement

Patch on the upper arm

The wearable sits on the upper arm, far from the head, and is started from a phone app, for example at the first sign of a migraine.

Pulses

Stimulates sensory nerves in the skin

Gentle electrical pulses, set by the user in the app, activate sensory nerves under the skin of the arm.

Brain response

Conditioned pain modulation

The arm signal switches on conditioned pain modulation, the brain's own system in which one stimulus damps pain elsewhere, easing the migraine.

Spec sheet

Spec	Nerivio
Treatment length	45 min^R (reported)
Pain relief at 2 h (pivotal)	66.7% vs 38.8% placebo^R (reported)
Pivotal trial size	252 patients, 12 clinics^R (reported)
Pain relief at 2 h (teens)	71%^R (reported)
US cleared ages	8 and older, acute and preventive^R (reported)
US treatments delivered	Over 1 million (Feb 2026)^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

4 updates

About Theranica

The team behind Nerivio

Theranica

Nerivio migraine wearable, remote electrical neuromodulation

Theranica makes Nerivio, a prescription armband that treats migraine with electrical pulses on the upper arm instead of drugs. Headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey, with an office in Netanya, Israel.

Nerivio got FDA De Novo authorisation in May 2019; it is now cleared for acute and preventive use from age 8.
Over one million US treatments; US insurance coverage reached about 130 million lives by February 2026.
China's NMPA approved Nerivio for acute migraine in adults in August 2025, with partner Pier 88 Health.

Company profile →

Headquarters: United StatesIsrael
Status: Private
Valuation: private
Raised: $80M2 rounds
Last round: Series C (first close) · $45M29 Aug 2022
Works in: NeurotechNon-invasive stimulation
Coverage: 1 program · 4 updateslatest 4 Feb 2026checked 11 Oct
Lead investors: New Rhein Healthcare InvestorsaMoon
Partners: Pier 88 Health
Investors: aMoonLightspeed Venture PartnersNew Rhein Healthcare Investors
People: Alon Ironi (opens biospace.com)CEO and Co-FounderShimon Eckhouse (opens biospace.com)Chairman and Co-Founder

Spec

Nerivio

Treatment length

45 min^R (reported)

Pain relief at 2 h (pivotal)

66.7% vs 38.8% placebo^R (reported)

Pivotal trial size

252 patients, 12 clinics^R (reported)

Pain relief at 2 h (teens)

71%^R (reported)

US cleared ages

8 and older, acute and preventive^R (reported)

US treatments delivered

Over 1 million (Feb 2026)^R (reported)

Nerivio

Milestones

Most important updates

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Patch on the upper arm

Stimulates sensory nerves in the skin

Conditioned pain modulation

Spec sheet

Update log

Wed 4 Feb

Mon 29 Sep 2025

Mon 25 Jan 2021

Tue 28 May 2019

About Theranica

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

Patch on the upper arm

Stimulates sensory nerves in the skin

Conditioned pain modulation

Spec sheet

Update log

Wed 4 Feb

Mon 29 Sep 2025

Mon 25 Jan 2021

Tue 28 May 2019

About Theranica