Rimegepant bests placebo for preventing migraine

(HealthDay)—Taken every other day, rimegepant demonstrates efficacy for the preventive treatment of migraine, according to a study published online Dec. 15 in The Lancet.

Robert Croop, M.D., from Biohaven Pharmaceuticals in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues compared the efficacy of rimegepant with placebo for preventive treatment of migraine. Participants at 92 sites were randomly assigned to either oral rimegepant (348 patients) or placebo (347 patients) every other day for 12 weeks.

The researchers found that rimegepant was superior to placebo on the change in the mean number of migraine days per month during weeks 9 to 12, with a decrease in mean number of migraine days per month of 4.3 days with rimegepant and 3.5 days with placebo. More than one-third (36 percent) of patients who received rimegepant reported an adverse event, as did 36 percent of those who received placebo. Discontinuation due to an adverse event occurred in seven participants receiving rimegepant and four receiving placebo.

"The short half-life of rimegepant relative to monoclonal antibodies is especially useful for patients who have a planned or unplanned pregnancy or adverse events that might require rapid cessation of drug exposure," the authors write. "Additional research could help to clarify the role of rimegepant for contemporaneous preventive and acute treatment of migraine."

Several authors disclosed financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Biohaven, which manufactures rimegepant and funded the study.

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