Rimegepant for migraine: acute efficacy beyond the USA

Abstract

The safety and efficacy of rimegepant, a synthetic molecule that competes with calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) for binding to its receptor, have been shown in two phase 3 studies on symptomatic treatment 1 Lipton RB Croop R Stock EG et al. Rimegepant, an oral calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist, for migraine. N Engl J Med. 2019; 381: 142-149 Crossref PubMed Scopus (177) Google Scholar , 2 Croop R Goadsby PJ Stock DA et al. Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of rimegepant orally disintegrating tablet for the acute treatment of migraine: a randomised, phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2019; 394: 737-745 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (172) Google Scholar and one on prophylactic treatment 3 Croop R Lipton RB Kudrow D et al. Oral rimegepant for preventive treatment of migraine: a phase 2/3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Lancet. 2021; 397: 51-60 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (106) Google Scholar of migraine, all done in the USA. On the basis of these data, rimegepant was the first CGRP antagonist (gepant) to be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency for both symptomatic and prophylactic treatment of migraine, giving it a unique and innovative role in the treatment of headaches. Rimegepant is available as a pill for oral administration as needed by people with migraine (ie, whenever they have a migraine attack 4 Mitsikostas DD Belesioti I Arvaniti C et al. Patients' preferences for headache acute and preventive treatment. J Headache Pain. 2017; 18: 102 Crossref PubMed Scopus (26) Google Scholar ), possibly without the risk of developing medication overuse headache, and without the need to take another medication for migraine prophylaxis. Until the development of the anti-CGRP treatments, all prophylactic anti-migraine medications had been repurposed from other diseases; these older treatments have little evidence of efficacy in migraine prophylaxis and have well known side-effects, which increases the likelihood that individuals have adverse events, reducing adherence and benefit. 5 Charles A Pozo-Rosich P Targeting calcitonin gene-related peptide: a new era in migraine therapy. Lancet. 2019; 394: 1765-1774 Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (157) Google Scholar By contrast, CGRP-pathway-targeting drugs are mechanism-based, are migraine-specific, and have very good evidence of tolerability and safety. 6 Hepp Z Dodick DW Varon SF Gillard P Hansen RN Devine EB Adherence to oral migraine-preventive medications among patients with chronic migraine. Cephalalgia. 2015; 35: 478-488 Crossref PubMed Scopus (254) Google Scholar Safety and efficacy of rimegepant orally disintegrating tablet for the acute treatment of migraine in China and South Korea: a phase 3, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled trialAmong adults living in China or South Korea, a single dose of 75 mg rimegepant was effective for the acute treatment of migraine. Safety and tolerability were similar to placebo. Our findings suggest that rimegepant might be a useful new addition to the range of medications for the acute treatment of migraine in China and South Korea, but further studies are needed to support long-term efficacy and safety and to compare rimegepant with other medications for the acute treatment of migraine in this population. Full-Text PDF