New Treatment Is Effective for Preventing Migraine

Oral rimegepant is effective for preventing migraine if taken every other day, according to the results of a recent study. 

Adults with a history of migraine for at least 1 year were included in a multicenter, phase 2/3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at nearly 100 locations across the United States. After 4 weeks of observation, the participants were randomly assigned to take either oral rimegepant, 75 mg, or a placebo every other day for 12 weeks.  

A total of 695 participants were analyzed for efficacy—348 participants took rimegepant and 347 took placebo. The group taking rimegepant had a lower mean number of migraine days than the group taking placebo. The rimegepant group also had 4.3 fewer migraine days during weeks 9 to 12 compared with the observation period. The placebo group had 3.5 fewer migraine days. 

“Taken every other day, rimegepant was effective for preventive treatment of migraine,” the researchers concluded. “Tolerability was similar to that of placebo, and no unexpected or serious safety issues were noted.

—Jessica Bard 

Reference: 

Croop R, Lipton RB, Kudrow D, et al. Oral rimegepant for preventive treatment of migraine: a phase 2/3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2021;397(10268):51-60. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(20)32544-7