The .
Fremanezumab-vfrm is an injectable anti–calcitonin gene-related peptide monoclonal antibody, the first ever approved by the FDA. It can be administered at a 225-mg dose every month or at a 675-mg dose every 3 months, according to a press release from Teva, the drug’s manufacturer.
FDA approval was based on results from two, phase 3 trials in patients with disabling migraines, one of which involved fremanezumab-vfrm alone, with the other involving the injection in tandem with an oral treatment.
In both trials, patients experienced a reduction of monthly migraine days over a 12-week period. The most common adverse event in both trials was injection site reactions.
“Migraine is a disabling neurological disease that affects more than 36 million people in the United States. About 40 percent of people living with migraine may be appropriate candidates for preventive treatment, yet the majority of them are untreated. I am pleased to have another treatment option that may allow my patients to experience fewer monthly migraine days,” Stephen Silberstein, MD, director of the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, said in the Teva press release.