New Preventative Migraine Medication QULIPTA Gets Approval From FDA
Towards the end of 2021, a breakthrough has been made in the migraine research space as the U.S. FDA approved the use of a preventative treatment called QULIPTA.
QULITPA
In September 2021, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the approval of Qulipta (atogepant) as a preventative treatment of episodic migraine in adults. Qulipta is a pill that works by blocking the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor. Six CGRP receptor or protein blockers have been approved by the FDA in the last few years:
- 4 injections that prevent headaches: Aimovig (erenumab), Ajovy (fremanezumab), Emgality (galcanezumab), and Vyepti (eptrinezumab)
- 1 pill that breaks headaches: Ubrelvy (ubrogepant)
- 1 pill that can be taken as needed to break a headache or every other day to prevent headaches: Nurtec (rimegepant)
Qulipta is the first pill designed to be taken daily to prevent migraine. In clinical trials of nearly 2,000 patients who experienced between four and 14 migraine days per month, Qulipta caused a statistically significant decrease in the mean number of migraine days suffered per month when compared to placebo. The final phase of testing was published in The New England Journal of Medicine given its pivotal findings for migraine sufferers.
In the clinical trials, cases in which the use of Qulipta was decreased or completely discontinued were for side effects such as constipation, nausea, decreased appetite, and/or fatigue after taking the medicine. These cases were only present in 2% of the patients tested.
Looking Forward to the Future
The FDA’s approval of the use of Qulipta for the preventative treatment of migraine headaches is a big step in the right direction for migraine sufferers. There is no cure for migraine headaches currently, and while the treatments and medications developed over recent years help, migraine sufferers are often still stuck with multiple migraine days each month. The continued research and development related to preventative treatment grants hope for the future of migraine treatment.
At The Will Erwin Headache Research Foundation, we are dedicated to finding a cure. We want to help fellow migraine and headache heroes as well as their families along their journey with this disease. Join us in the fight to help end migraine sufferers’ pain by donating to the cause today.