FDA approves world’s first fast-acting nasal spray to treat migraines

Sly Saint

Senior Member (Voting Rights)
The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a world-first fast-acting nasal spray to treat migraines, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer announced on Friday.

Pfizer noted in a statement that it expects the drug named Zavzpret to be available in pharmacies in July 2023.

“The FDA approval of Zavzpretmarks a significant breakthrough for people with migraine who need freedom from pain and prefer alternative options to oral medications,” Angela Hwang, the pharmaceutical company’s chief commercial officer said in a statement.

Estimates suggest that over 40 million people in the US suffer from migraine and the World Health Organization classifies the condition as one of the 10 most disabling medical illnesses.

Migraines are characterised by debilitating attacks that can last four to 72 hours with symptoms such as pulsating headaches of moderate to severe pain intensity, sometimes along with nausea or vomiting.

Researchers have tested nasal sprays as an option to treat migraine in people for whom oral drugs are ineffective, slow-acting, or intolerable due to nausea and vomiting.


In a phase 3 clinical study, Pfizer found that Zavzpret – which represents a novel class of small molecule drugs – was superior to placebo in pain freedom from migraine at two hours post-dose.
The study, whose results were published recently in the journalThe Lancet Neurology, also found pain relief as early as 15 minutes versus placebo.

“Two hours after the treatment dose, more participants in the zavegepant group than in the placebo group had pain freedom,” scientists wrote.
FDA approves world’s first fast-acting nasal spray to treat migraines (msn.com)
 
Does anybody know if this is simply a nasal form of an existing oral drug?

CGRP Inhibitors for Migraine

In 2018, the FDA approved the first calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) inhibitors. These new drugs are designed to prevent episodic migraine (up to 14 headache days per month), chronic migraine (15 headache days per month or more), and medication overuse headaches. CGRP inhibitors were the first class of drugs developed to prevent migraines with or without visual auras. Experts recommend their use for those with 6 or more migraine days per month, or when older preventive migraine treatments fail or are not tolerated by the migraine sufferer.

In 2021 a subset of CGRP inhibitors were approved to treat acute migraine.

The American Migraine Foundation calls CGRP inhibitors, “the biggest news in migraine treatment and prevention in decades.”

Preventive migraine treatment:

  • Given by injection or IV
    • Erenumab (Aimovig)
    • Eptinezumab (Vyepti)
    • Fremanezumab (Ajovy)
    • Galcanezumab (Emgality)
  • Oral
    • Atogepant (Qulipta)
    • Rimegepant (Nurtec)
  • Nasal
    • Zavegepant (Zavzpret)
Acute migraine treatment:

  • Oral
    • Rimegepant (Nurtec)
    • Ubrogepant (Ubrelvy)
  • Nasal
    • Zavegepant (Zavzpret)
CGRP migraine medications can also be called anti-CGRP, CGRP inhibitors, CGRP antagonist treatments, and CGRP monoclonal antibodies for migraine.

https://www.webmd.com/migraines-headaches/cgrp-inhibitors-for-migraine
 
Zavzpret may be the most difficult drug name to pronounce that I have encountered. Who at Pfizer thought it would be a suitable name?

Superior to placebo?

So better than nothing?

But is it better than doing something? Even if that something is doing nothing in a darkened quiet room?
From the results of the trial:

“2 h after the treatment dose, more participants in the zavegepant group than in the placebo group had pain freedom (147 [24%] of 623 participants vs 96 [15%] of 646 participants, risk difference 8·8 percentage points, 95% CI 4·5–13·1; p<0·0001) and freedom from their most bothersome symptom (247 [40%] vs 201 [31%], risk difference 8·7 percentage points, 3·4–13·9; p=0·0012).”
 
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Safety, tolerability, and efficacy of zavegepant 10 mg nasal spray for the acute treatment of migraine in the USA: a phase 3, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled multicentre trial

Lipton et al, March 2023

Summary

Background

Intranasal formulations can provide treatment options for people with migraine in whom oral drugs are ineffective, slow-acting, or intolerable because of nausea and vomiting. Zavegepant, an intranasally administered small molecule calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist, was previously assessed in a phase 2/3 trial. This phase 3 trial aimed to compare the efficacy, tolerability, safety, and timecourse of response for zavegepant nasal spray with placebo in the acute treatment of migraine.

Methods

This double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, multicentre phase 3 trial, conducted at 90 academic medical centres, headache clinics, and independent research facilities in the USA, recruited adults (aged ≥18 years) with a history of two to eight moderate or severe migraine attacks per month. Participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to zavegepant 10 mg nasal spray or matching placebo and self-treated a single migraine attack of moderate or severe pain intensity. Randomisation was stratified by the use or non-use of preventive medication. Study centre personnel entered eligible participants into the study using an interactive web response system that was operated and managed by an independent contract research organisation. All participants, investigators, and the funder were masked to group assignment. The coprimary endpoints, freedom from pain and freedom from the most bothersome symptom at 2 h after the treatment dose, were assessed in all randomly assigned participants who took the study medication, had a migraine attack of moderate or severe pain intensity at baseline, and provided at least one evaluable post-baseline efficacy datapoint. Safety was analysed in all randomly assigned participants who received at least one dose. The study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT04571060, and is closed to accrual.

Findings

Between Oct 27, 2020, and Aug 20, 2021, 1978 participants were recruited and assessed for eligibility. 1405 participants were eligible (703 were assigned to zavegepant and 702 to placebo), and 1269 were included in the efficacy analysis set (623 in the zavegepant group and 646 in the placebo group). 2 h after the treatment dose, more participants in the zavegepant group than in the placebo group had pain freedom (147 [24%] of 623 participants vs 96 [15%] of 646 participants, risk difference 8·8 percentage points, 95% CI 4·5–13·1; p<0·0001) and freedom from their most bothersome symptom (247 [40%] vs 201 [31%], risk difference 8·7 percentage points, 3·4–13·9; p=0·0012). The most common adverse events in either treatment group (≥2%) were dysgeusia (129 [21%] of 629 in the zavegepant group vs 31 [5%] of 653 in the placebo group), nasal discomfort (23 [4%] vs five [1%]), and nausea (20 [3%] vsseven [1%]). No signal of hepatotoxicity due to zavegepant was identified.

Interpretation

Zavegepant 10 mg nasal spray was efficacious in the acute treatment of migraine, with favourable tolerability and safety profiles. Additional trials are needed to establish the long-term safety and consistency of effect across attacks.

Funding

Biohaven Pharmaceuticals.

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(22)00517-8/fulltext
 
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