A new study has found that AbbVie's drug Atogepant can work as an emergency treatment for migraines. The tablets relieved headaches and symptoms characteristic of the disease in 24% of participants within two hours — almost twice as effective as a placebo.

The American pharmaceutical company AbbVie has presented the results of phase III clinical trials of ECLIPSE. According to the data, its drug atogepant is capable of stopping a migraine attack that has already begun.

The study involved 1,223 people over the age of 18. They took 60 mg of atogepant or a placebo four times when they experienced headaches. The tablets completely relieved 24% of the subjects of pain and associated symptoms. The placebo produced the same result in 13% of cases.

Atogepant blocks the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) protein, which triggers the development of migraines in the body. The drug has been approved in more than 60 countries for the prevention of the disease. It is sold as Aquipta in the European Union and Qulipta in the United States. AbbVie has announced that it has already submitted an application to the European regulator for an extension of the indications.

Migraine is a neurological disease in which a person experiences severe throbbing pain on one side of the head, often accompanied by nausea, photophobia, and increased sensitivity to sound. About 14% of the world's population suffers from it, most often women.

 

Source: PR Newswire