# Nerivio by Theranica

Canonical page: https://technooptimist.io/neurotech/nerivio
Frontier: [Neurotech](https://technooptimist.io/neurotech.md) · Field: Non-invasive stimulation · Company: [Theranica](https://technooptimist.io/companies/theranica.md)
Stage: Scaling (5 of 5: Research → Proto → Pilot → Deploy → Scaling)
Updated: last update 2026-02-04, facts checked 2026-10-11
Goal: 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.
Status: FDA-cleared from age 8 for acute and preventive use; >1M US treatments; approved in China 2025

## Milestones

| Status | Milestone | Date | Slip |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Done | FDA De Novo for acute migraine (adults) | 28 May 2019 |   |
| Done | FDA clearance extended to adolescents 12+ | 25 Jan 2021 |   |
| Done | $45M Series C first close | 29 Aug 2022 |   |
| Done | China NMPA approval (adults, acute) | 11 Aug 2025 |   |
| Done | US coverage reaches ~130M lives | 4 Feb 2026 |   |

## Most important updates

- **4 Feb 2026**: Theranica says US insurance coverage for Nerivio reaches about 130 million lives. A wave of Blue Cross Blue Shield and other payer policies deeming Nerivio medically necessary brought US coverage to roughly 130 million people, which Theranica says rivals major migraine drug classes. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/theranica-says-us-insurance-coverage-for-nerivio-reaches-about-130-a691eff0.md) · [original source](https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/theranica-announces-u-s-coverage-for-nerivio-reaching-130-million-lives-attaining-payer-scale-comparable-to-leading-migraine-drugs))
- **29 Sep 2025**: China's NMPA approves Nerivio for acute migraine in adults, with partner Pier 88 Health. Pier 88 Health and Theranica announced China's approval of Nerivio, the first remote electrical neuromodulation wearable for migraine approved there. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/china-s-nmpa-approves-nerivio-for-acute-migraine-in-adults-with-partner-75e45e76.md) · [original source](https://www.biospace.com/press-releases/pier-88-health-and-theranica-announce-china-nmpa-approval-of-the-nerivio-ren-wearable-for-acute-treatment-of-migraine))
- **25 Jan 2021**: FDA extends Nerivio to acute migraine treatment in adolescents aged 12 and older. Nerivio's indication was expanded to episodic or chronic migraine in people 12 and older, based on a study published in Headache. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/fda-extends-nerivio-to-acute-migraine-treatment-in-adolescents-aged-12-78a835ac.md) · [original source](https://www.biospace.com/fda-approves-theranica-s-nerivio-for-acute-treatment-of-migraine-in-adolescents))
- **28 May 2019**: FDA grants De Novo authorisation to Theranica's Nerivio Migra, a smartphone-controlled migraine wearable. The FDA authorised Nerivio Migra, a prescription arm patch that delivers electrical pulses to sensory nerves for acute migraine, used at home at the onset of headache or aura. ([our story](https://technooptimist.io/stories/fda-grants-de-novo-authorisation-to-theranica-s-nerivio-migra-a-4fcbc970.md) · [original source](https://www.medtechdive.com/news/neuromodulation-patch-for-migraine-gains-de-novo-nod/555620/))

## Current obstacles

- **Not everyone responds**: In the pivotal trial 66.7% had pain relief at two hours versus 38.8% with placebo, so a sizable minority get little benefit.
- **Insurance access**: As 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 migraine**: Migraine 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 pain**: The 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

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

Provenance: reported = stated by the company; estimated = our estimate; sample = a sample figure.

## About Theranica

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.

- Headquarters: US, IL
- Status: private
- Raised: $80M
- Last round: Series C (first close) $45M, 29 Aug 2022, led by New Rhein Healthcare Investors
- People: Alon Ironi (CEO and Co-Founder); Shimon Eckhouse (Chairman and Co-Founder)
- Partners, customers, investors: Pier 88 Health (partner); aMoon (investor); Lightspeed Venture Partners (investor); New Rhein Healthcare Investors (investor)

Company page: https://technooptimist.io/companies/theranica.md

## Related programs

Everything in Neurotech: https://technooptimist.io/neurotech.md

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