Study collects real-world data on newly approved migraine treatments

Ubrogepant provided pain relief to patients with migraine in a real-world setting, according to preliminary results of an ongoing study evaluating recently approved treatments.

The study was presented at the American Headache Society Annual Meeting. It received the American Headache Society’s Frontiers in Headache Research Award.

Chia-Chun Chiang, MD, a headache fellow at Mayo Clinic Arizona, said during the presentation that although the newly approved treatments — ubrogepant (Ubrelvy; Allergan), rimegepant (Nurtec ODT; Biohaven) and lasmiditan (Reyvow; Eli Lilly) — were shown to provide significant pain reduction compared with placebo in randomized control trials, the trials “were done in patients with episodic migraine; and so far, we have no data in patients with complex comorbidities [and] chronic migraine, and [we have] had multiple ineffective treatment trials.”

To gather more information, Chiang and colleagues assessed the performance of each medication in a real-world setting. During the presentation, Chiang said patients participated in a 15-item questionnaire 1 month to 3 months after they were prescribed one of the three agents. The questionnaire was conducted through patient portals, over the phone or during an office visit.

At the time of the presentation, Chiang and colleagues had collected enough data on ubrogepant to present their preliminary findings.

Among 57 respondents with migraine, 32% reported they were very satisfied with ubrogepant, 34% reported they were somewhat satisfied, and 34% reported they were not at all satisfied.

Chiang and colleagues found that 32% of patients taking ubrogepant experienced headache freedom 2 hours after taking the medication for at least one migraine attack, and 73% reported relief from pain at 2 hours during at least one migraine attack.

In addition, 27% of surveyed patients reported consistent pain relief in all migraine attacks 2 hours after taking ubrogepant.

The most commonly reported adverse events among patients taking ubrogepant included nausea, fatigue, dry mouth and constipation, according to Chiang.

She noted that a caveat was that most patients (81%) had chronic migraine, and the study was limited due to the potential for recall bias and its small size. However, the study is active and ongoing.

“By systematically collecting information, we aim to provide important clinical information with patient experience of the newly FDA-approved medications,” Chiang said.