Allergan just got one step closer to approval for its migraine drug — and it's part of a wave of new treatments for the condition that affects 38 million Americans (AGN)

pulse

February 6, 2018 5:06 PM

It's part of a wave of new migraine treatments that could potentially be approved in the next few years.

There's a race to bring new migraine treatments to the
On Tuesday, Botox-maker
The new drugs are used to either prevent migraines or alleviate them when they happen.

A wave of new migraine medications are getting closer to approval.

The migraine market is huge. An estimated38 million Americans have migraines, a chronic neurologic conditionthat can cause pain, sensitivity to light and noise, dizziness, and nausea. For some, more than four days of the month are consumed by the episodes.

On Tuesday, Allergan said that said that its preventative medication succeeded in a late-stage trial for its oral treatment that's meant to work when patients have a migraine attack. A greater percentage of those who received the treatment were pain-free after two hours, compared to those who received the placebo.

Allergan plans to submit the drug for approval in 2019.

While there aren't any drugs available today that were originally approved to alleviate migraines, other treatments — includingBotox and anti-seizure medications — are used. Pain relievers can also help treat some of thesymptoms of migraines.

Allergan's drug is part of a new class of medications that target CGRP, short for calcitonin gene-related peptide.

CGRP isn't exactly a new target. CGRP has been known to play a significant role in migraines since the 1980s and 1990s, though it's taken some time to develop the technology that can leverage it.

A large portion — roughly 15 million — would be eligible for preventive treatment. Right now, three of these preventive drugs could be in front of the FDA for review. Here's the skinny on each of them.

Amgen, erenumab
FDA in May
Lilly, galcanezumab —
filed galcanezumab
Teva, fremanezumab
2.2-day reduction
in October
Alder Biopharmaceuticals, eptinezumab
phase 3 trials,

The new class of drugs aims to reduce the number of days per month people have migraines. With the exception of Allergan's oral version, the drugs are injected typically on a monthly basis. If approved, the drugs are expected to cost$8,500 per year.

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