News

Ajovy (fremanezumab) and Emgality (galcanezumab) have been approved for inclusion on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in Australia for prescription to patients with chronic migraine. This means that the cost of treatment will be subsidised by the Australian government. Patients will need to fulfil three criteria to benefit from reduced pricing: A diagnosis of chronic …

European migraine specialists have urged head-to-head studies of preventive therapies, including CGRP monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), topiramate and botulinum toxin A. This follows two recent systematic reviews with meta-analyses showing that all three treatments have superior efficacy to placebo but topiramate has a less favourable safety profile and higher drop out rate compared to the other …

Galcanezumab significantly reduces mean weekly total pain burden in patients with episodic cluster headache, according to results of a post hoc analysis of the Phase 3 study which supported US approval of galcanezumab in the indication. The new analysis, aimed at addressing the multiple pain dimensions that may contribute to the total burden of episodic …

Clinicians are being encouraged to report experiences of switching patients between CGRP mAbs in order to better understand potential benefits and inform treatment access policies of payers and care providers. A report of seven patients with chronic migraine and prior treatment with three to 14 preventive drugs (mean 9.5) has demonstrated the impact of switching …

Two cases of restless legs syndrome (RLS) have been described in patients with chronic refractory migraine using CGRP mAbs, although the authors of the report stress that caution is needed before establishing a causal relationship. The affected patients developed typical RLS symptoms 1.5 and four months after starting erenumab 140 mg, respectively. In the first …

CGRP levels have been shown to change significantly during the menstrual cycle, with variations in patterns identified in women with migraine and/or endometriosis. In a study of 124 women, the change in plasma CGRP levels between menstruation and the periovulatory period was different between groups (p = 0.007). Women with migraine alone had a decrease …

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Nurtec ODT (rimegepant), in a dose of 75mg every other day, for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in adults. This follows the drug’s US approval in February 2020 for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults. “The FDA approval of Nurtec …

Adding CGRP monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) to onabotulinumtoxinA treatment reduced monthly headache days (MHDs), improved migraine-related disability scores and was well tolerated with no new safety signals. These were the conclusions from a retrospective chart review of 300 patients with chronic migraine treated at a single US clinic site with > 2 consecutive cycles of onabotulinumtoxinA …

Using anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) does not increase the risk of COVID-19, or worsen prognosis in those who get the infection, according to recently published data from the Spanish CGRP-COVID Study Group. Of 300 patients with migraine recruited through a Spanish Society of Neurology survey, 51.7% (155/300) were treated with anti-CGRP monoclonal MAbs. Of the …

Improved pain scores and mood have been reported by patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN) who were treated with erenumab. Nine out of 10 patients diagnosed with TN and treated with erenumab for six months reported improvement in pain severity according to a numeric pain rating scale (NPRS) from 0 to 10, and in global mood. …

Two-year data for eptinezumab 300 mg i.v. demonstrate a favourable safety profile, limited long-term immunogenicity, early and sustained reductions in migraine-related burden, and improvements in health-related quality of life, conclude the authors of the newly published PREVAIL study. Results were reported from the Phase 3 open label study of 128 adults with chronic migraine who …

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has confirmed that erenumab can be prescribed for migraine prevention free of charge on the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales. Physicians may consider erenumab 140 mg as an option for migraine prevention in adults who have four or more migraine days a month …

CGRP Forum Editor, Peter Goadsby, and Editorial Board Member, Lars Edvinsson, are two of the four recipients of the prestigious Brain Prize 2021 for their pioneering work on CGRP as a cause of migraine. The award, made annually by the Lundbeck Foundation, honours scientists who have made outstanding contributions to the field of neuroscience. “It …

Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) research has shed new light on the binding and activation mechanism of the CGRP receptor, contributing to greater understanding of the progression of the molecular events that lead to migraine. The research, led by researchers at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and published in Science, show how the binding of CGRP to the …

Patients using CGRP monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) do not need to delay treatment when they are scheduled to have COVID-19 vaccination as there is no evidence that COVID-19 vaccines affect CGRP MAb efficacy or that CGRP MAbs affect vaccine efficacy. These are the conclusions of a recent editorial in Headache1 which also says that there is …

Five-year data on the efficacy and safety of erenumab in the prevention of episodic migraine have been published in the European Journal of Neurology.1 In the five-year, open-label extension of a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, 250/383 (65.3%) patients switched from erenumab 70 mg to erenumab 140 mg, and 215 (56.1%) completed treatment. Mean reduction in …

No specific maternal toxicities, patterns of major birth defects, or increased reporting of spontaneous abortion were found in safety reports retrieved from the WHO Pharmacovigilance database up to the end of 2019. However, continuous surveillance is required in pregnant and lactating women exposed to these drugs owing to the relatively limited number of adverse drug …

Patients taking anti-CGRP therapies did not experience more migraines or reduced quality of life during COVID-19 lockdown in Italy, according to results of an observational study of 147 participants, 105 with chronic migraine (CM) and 42 with episodic migraine (EM). During the first month of lockdown (T-lock) monthly migraine days (MMDs) were reduced from 10.5 …

Improvements in health related quality of life (QoL) in Japanese patients with episodic migraine treated with galcanezumab are comparable to those seen in global studies of mainly Caucasian patients. Results of a prespecified analysis of data from a Phase 2, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 40 Japanese centres showed significantly greater improvements in Migraine-Specific Quality-of-Life …

Over nine out of 10 patients who revert from chronic to episodic migraine (EM) after 12 weeks of erenumab are likely to maintain their episodic status after a further 12 months of treatment, according to post-hoc data from an early Phase 2 trial.1,2 Among 181 patients who completed 64 weeks of erenumab, 98 (54.1% [95% …

Inhibiting both CGRP and PACAP signalling in trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons may be more effective in treating chronic migraine (CM) and post-traumatic headache (PTH) than targeting individual signalling pathways. This is the conclusion of researchers whose preclinical research has demonstrated that recurring migraine episodes alter the strength of CGRP and PACAP signalling in TG neurons. …

Results of a Phase 2/3 study (NCT03732638) showing that oral rimegepant 75 mg every other day is effective for migraine prevention are published today in The Lancet.1 Top-line data from the study were reported earlier this year.2 An efficacy analysis of data from 695 participants (rimegepant=347, placebo=348) showed that rimegepant was superior to placebo for …

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended erenumab as an option for migraine prevention free of charge on the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales.1 This overturns a previous decision against erenumab’s availability on the NHS,2 and it is expected that the new decision will be confirmed by the …

Combining atogepant and onabotulinumtoxinA has been shown to inhibit high-threshold (HT) and wide-dynamic-range (WDR) neurons through dual blockade of the Aδ and C classes of meningeal nociceptors. In a preclinical study, single-unit recordings were obtained of HT and WDR neurons in the spinal trigeminal nucleus, and cortical spreading depression was then induced following pretreatment with …

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has confirmed that Emgality (galcanezumab) can be prescribed for migraine prevention free of charge on the National Health Service (NHS) in England and Wales. The drug can be prescribed to patients with episodic or chronic migraine who have four or more migraine days a month and …

Erenumab appears to have central as well as peripheral effects, according to new data from a functional imaging study in patients with migraine before and after erenumab treatment. In the fMRI study on 27 patients with migraine, erenumab 70 mg resulted in a decrease in activation in the right thalamus (contralateral to the stimulated side), …

Top line results from the Phase 4 HER-MES study of erenumab versus topiramate have demonstrated the superiority of erenumab in migraine prevention. Erenumab had a superior tolerability and efficacy profile compared to topiramate, with fewer discontinuations during the double-blind, 24-week treatment phase. Erenumab also showed superior efficacy, with a greater proportion of patients achieving a 50% reduction in their …

Circulating CGRP levels have been shown to increase by about 40% in patients taking erenumab for at least six months. New data, published in the The Journal of Headache and Pain, support the possibility that long term blockade of CGRP receptors may induce an increase in systemic CGRP levels via a classical upregulation mechanism. However, …

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended that Emgality (galcanezumab) can be prescribed free to patients with episodic or chronic migraine in England and Wales. The final appraisal document recommends that galcanezumab can be used for preventing migraine in adults who have four or more migraine days a month and have …

Quarterly and monthly fremanezumab are well tolerated and demonstrate sustained improvements in monthly migraine days, headache days, and headache-related disability for up to 12 months. These are the findings from a randomised, double-blind, parallel-group study which compared the effects of dosing schedules in 1890 adults with chronic migraine (CM) or episodic migraine (EM), most of …

Real world data from German centres support off-label use of anti-CGRP therapy in chronic cluster headache (CCH),1 despite previous disappointing clinical trial results.2 In 22 patients with CCH who had tried a mean 6.5+2.4 preventive medicines, the average number of weekly attacks was 23.3+16.4 at baseline and significantly decreased by -9.2+9.7 in the first month …

  Starting Vyepti (eptinezumab) during a migraine attack significantly reduces time to freedom from headache pain and absence of most bothersome symptom compared to placebo, according to top-line results from the RELIEF study. Significant improvements were also seen in secondary endpoints, including pain freedom and absence of most bothersome symptom at 2 hours after the …

Fremanezumab significantly improved migraine-specific quality of life, overall health status, patients’ global impression of change with treatment, and productivity in patients with chronic migraine. This was the conclusion from the latest analysis of data from the placebo controlled HALO CM study which investigated the efficacy and safety of quarterly and monthly fremanezumab. In the study …

Women with a history of menstrual migraine respond as well to erenumab as other patients with migraine, according to results of a post hoc, subgroup analysis of the phase 3 STRIVE study in episodic migraine. Of 814 women enrolled in STRIVE, 232 (28.5%) reported a history of menstrual migraine and were ≤ 50 years old. …

Promising real-life data have been reported with erenumab in patients with highly refractory migraine. Those with episodic migraine (EM) had tried at least five approved preventive medications and those with chronic migraine (CM) had tried at least six. Reasons for stopping previous therapies were lack of efficacy, adverse effects, or contraindications. Data collected on 100 …

Once-daily, oral atogepant significantly reduced mean monthly migraine days (MMDs) at 12 weeks, according to top-line data from the Phase 3 ADVANCE trial in episodic migraine. Results show that mean MMDs were reduced from baseline by 3.69, 3.86 and 4.2 days with atogepant 10 mg, 30 mg or 60 mg respectively, compared to 2.48 days …

Erenumab has been shown to reduce cluster headache (CH) frequency and intensity in a small case series of five patients with both migraine without aura and CH. All patients had failed on previous preventive treatments and showed good results for both migraine and CH following treatment with erenumab 70 or 140 mg. CH improvements occurred …

Patients with post-traumatic headache (PTH) responded well to erenumab 140 mg in a single-arm, open label study, reported in The Journal of Headache and Pain. Eighty nine of 100 patients treated a mean 59 months after their brain injury completed the 12-week study of erenumab 140 mg monthly. Mean monthly headache days of moderate to …

Doctors in England and Wales can now prescribe Ajovy (fremanezumab) for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults, free of charge on the NHS. This follows publication of guidance by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE).1 NICE has recommended fremanezumab for patients with chronic migraine (>15 headache days per month for more …

Ajovy (fremanezumab) has been approved by Health Canada for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults who have at least four migraine days per month. The indication is in line with that for Aimovig (erenumab) and Emgality (galcanezumab) which are currently approved for prescription in Canada. The Ajovy approval was supported by data from two …

Vazegepant, the intranasal, small molecule CGRP receptor antagonist, is expected to enter a Phase 2 study to investigate its effects in mitigating the excessive immune response seen in patients with pulmonary complications of COVID-19 disease. The proposed study which is to be carried out by vazegepant developer, Biohaven, in collaboration with Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, …

Leading US migraine specialists have called on insurance providers to eliminate prior authorisation and step therapy requirements for migraine treatment during the COVID-19 crisis and enable easier access to anti-CGRP therapies for appropriate patients. In an editorial accepted for publication in Headache, Dr Christina Szperka and colleagues suggest that, at such a difficult time, patients …

Oral rimegepant 75 mg every other day significantly reduces monthly migraine days compared to placebo in patients with episodic or chronic migraine, according to results of a pivotal Phase 3 trial reported by Biohaven. The company now plans to submit rimegepant for regulatory approval for preventive treatment of migraine with the aim of it becoming …

With early studies of anti-CGRP therapy underway in trigeminal neuralgia (TN), newly published research supports a role for CGRP in the pathophysiology of the disease and for CGRP inhibition in the analgesic mechanism of botulinumtoxinA (BTX-A) in TN. In a pilot study completed by 45/47 patients with classical TN and 30/47 matched healthy controls, plasma CGRP levels …

A post hoc analysis of galcanezumab data from the EVOLVE-1, EVOLVE-2 and REGAIN trials suggests that the CGRP antibody may be a useful next step for patients with migraine who fail to respond to onabotulinumtoxinA preventive therapy. Pooled data from 2886 patients with episodic or chronic migraine included 129 patients who failed onabotulinumtoxinA, with most …

Measurement of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and GLP-1 metabolite levels in patients taking anti-CGRP therapies could provide useful insights into whether GLP-1 supplementation may benefit those with treatment-associated constipation. This suggestion comes in a letter from leading Danish migraine researchers published in the Journal of Headache and Pain.1 Previous research has demonstrated CGRP-induced GLP-1 secretion and …

The intranasal CGRP antagonist, vazegepant, is expected to enter a Phase 3 clinical trial for the acute treatment of migraine after non clinical and Phase 2 issues were successfully addressed with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Biohaven, which is developing the drug, expects to advance the 10 mg dose of intranasal vazegepant into …

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has recommended approval for Ajovy (fremanezumab) for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults on the NHS in England.1 This means that up to 10,000 people may benefit from treatment. The draft guidance recommends that fremanezumab can be used for preventing chronic migraine in people who …

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has refused a licence extension for Emgality (galcanezumab) for the prevention of episodic cluster headache.1 The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP), which advises the EMA, said that the single study used to support the application “did not show clearly that Emgality is effective for preventing attacks” in …

Nurtec ODT (rimegepant) has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults. Nurtec ODT is formulated as a rapidly disintegrating tablet and the recommended dose is 75 mg taken orally. This is also the maximum recommended dose during a 24-hour period. The …