Idorsia expands QUVIVIQ’s global footprint through new partnership with Pharmalink
- Idorsia and Pharmalink enter into an exclusive distribution and commercialization agreement for QUVIVIQ™ (daridorexant) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain
Allschwil, Switzerland – March 10, 2026
Idorsia Ltd (SIX: IDIA) has entered into an exclusive agreement with Pharmalink Drug Store L.L.C for the distribution and commercialization of QUVIVIQ™ (daridorexant) – its treatment for adults with insomnia – across the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain.
Srishti Gupta, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Idorsia, commented:
“We are delighted to partner with Pharmalink, a leading healthcare provider that shares our bold vision for QUVIVIQ‘s growth across the UAE and other Gulf states. I am confident that this partnership will ensure that many patients gain access to our innovative treatment for insomnia – the only medication to have shown improvement on daytime functioning and treat insomnia as a 24-hour disorder.”
Abdul Rauf Jabour, MD, Chief Executive Officer of Pharmalink, commented:
“We are extremely pleased to partner with Idorsia to introduce QUVIVIQ to the UAE and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region. Insomnia is highly prevalent in the GCC region and an innovative brand like QUVIVIQ would rightly address the patient’s needs.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Idorsia will receive an upfront payment and hold the Marketing Authorizations for the countries. Upon regulatory approval, Idorsia will supply to Pharmalink finished drug product at an agreed price. Pharmalink will be responsible for distribution, promotion and sale of the product in the specified territory.
QUVIVIQ – a different kind of insomnia treatment
Insomnia affects millions worldwide, yet commonly used treatments can lead to next-day drowsiness, dependence, and withdrawal symptoms – leaving a clear unmet need for safer, effective alternatives.
Discovered by Idorsia, QUVIVIQ works differently from traditional hypnotics. As a dual orexin receptor antagonist, it selectively targets the orexin system, helping to regulate overactive wake signaling without broadly suppressing brain activity. Its optimized pharmacokinetics promote restorative sleep throughout the entire night, reducing morning sleepiness and improving daytime functioning.
Clinical trials published in The Lancet Neurology demonstrated that daridorexant significantly improved sleep onset, sleep maintenance, and self-reported total sleep time at 25mg and 50mg doses compared to placebo. Daridorexant 50 mg also demonstrated a highly significant improvement in daytime functioning compared to placebo.
Global availability
QUVIVIQ is marketed by Idorsia in the US, Canada, and multiple European countries, and is available in Japan, Hong Kong, and China through commercial partnerships. Idorsia also has license and supply agreements with EMS in Latin America and CTS in Israel. This collaboration with Pharmalink further strengthens Idorsia’s commitment to building QUVIVIQ into a global brand.
Notes to the editor
About insomnia
Insomnia is defined as a combination of dissatisfaction with sleep and a significant negative impact on daytime functioning. Dissatisfaction with sleep refers to the difficulty to initiate and/or maintain sleep on at least three nights per week for at least three months, despite adequate opportunity to sleep.
Insomnia is a condition of overactive wake signaling and studies have shown that areas of the brain associated with wakefulness remain more active during sleep in patients with insomnia.
Insomnia as a disorder is quite different from a brief period of poor sleep, and it can take its toll on both physical and mental health. It is a persistent condition with a negative impact on daytime functioning. Idorsia’s research has shown that poor-quality sleep can affect many aspects of daily life, including the ability to concentrate, mood, and energy levels.
The goals of managing insomnia are to improve sleep quality and quantity, as well as daytime functioning. Current recommended treatment of insomnia includes sleep hygiene recommendations, cognitive behavioral therapy and pharmacotherapy.
About Pharmalink
Pharmalink is a trusted partner for innovative therapies commercialization in the Gulf region, a success story that is more than three decades in the making. The group operates with more than 1800 employees with fully integrated own commercialization set up including registration, marketing, distribution and more than 200 pharmacies to support in-licensed brands growth. Today, Pharmalink supplies a wide range of product categories that address all age groups and specialties. These medications include lifesaving & emergency drugs to consumables and OTC medications that can be purchased without prescriptions.
As a well-known name in the market, Pharmalink in-licenses innovative therapies across therapeutic segments from reputed global biotech and pharmaceutical companies for commercialization in the GCC countries thereby ensuring their availability to the patients across the Gulf countries.
Pharmalink effectively covers the entire market through own resources, capabilities and infrastructure catering to private as well as public markets in the region.
The group operates fully-owned pharmacy chains – Medicina and Al Manara with a total of more than 200 pharmacies ensuring retail penetration for brands in-licensed from partners globally.
About Idorsia
The purpose of Idorsia is to challenge accepted medical paradigms, answering the questions that matter most. To achieve this, we will discover, develop, and commercialize transformative medicines – either with in-house capabilities or together with partners – and evolve Idorsia into a leading biopharmaceutical company, with a strong scientific core.
Headquartered near Basel, Switzerland – a European biotech hub – Idorsia has a highly experienced team of dedicated professionals, covering all disciplines from bench to bedside; QUVIVIQ™ (daridorexant), a different kind of insomnia treatment with the potential to revolutionize this mounting public health concern; strong partners to maximize the value of our portfolio; a promising in-house development pipeline; and a specialized drug discovery engine focused on small-molecule drugs that can change the treatment paradigm for many patients.
Idorsia is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: IDIA).
For further information, please contact:
Investor & Media Relations
Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Hegenheimermattweg 91, CH-4123 Allschwil
+41 58 844 10 10
investor.relations@idorsia.com – media.relations@idorsia.com – www.idorsia.com
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