Qulipta (atogepant) from AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) has become the first calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) agonist to win FDA approval for the preventive treatment of migraine headaches. In recent years, the agency has approved two related drugs, Ubrelvy (ubrogepant) from AbbVie subsidiary Allergan (NYSE:ABBV) and Nurtec ODT (rimegepant sulfate) from Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company Ltd. (NYSE:BHVN). Both…

The analgesic dihydroergotamine (DHE) has perhaps the longest track record of any effective migraine medicine. Seattle-based Impel NeuroPharma (NSDQ:IMPL) aims to reestablish DHE as a cornerstone of acute migraine treatment following the FDA approval of Trudhesa, a DHE nasal spray. Trudhesa uses the company’s Precision Olfactory Delivery (POD) that delivers the drug to the vasculature…

Satsuma Pharmaceuticals (NSDQ:STSA) has announced that it has enrolled the first patient in its SUMMIT Phase 3 efficacy trial of STS101, a drug-device product that is a potential acute treatment of migraine. STS101 is a nasal powder containing dihydroergotamine (DHE), an analgesic already available to treat migraines and cluster headaches. In fact, migraine patients have…

FDA indicates Biohaven Pharmaceuticals‘ Nurtec ODT for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults. The agency recently extended the indication to include the preventive treatment of migraines. Nurtech is currently the only drug to win FDA approval as both an acute and preventive migraine treatment. The expanded indication has launched the…

Migraines are an ancient condition. In about 400 B.C., Hippocrates described visual symptoms of migraine aura that precede headache onset. But up until recently, neurologists had relatively few tools at their disposal to help migraine patients. The treatment landscape has evolved considerably in recent years, explains Alexander Feoktistov, a neurologist at the Synergy Integrative Headache…