NICE backs Aquipta for migraine prevention in adults

Marketed by US pharma major AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV), Aquipta is deemed suitable for national Health Service (NHS) use as an option for preventing migraine in adults who have at least four migraine days per month, only if at least three preventive treatments have not worked.

The NICE recommendation follows the Scottish Medicines Consortium, which accepted atogepant for restricted use in patients with chronic and episodic migraine who have had prior failure on three or more migraine preventive treatments, on October 9, 2023.

Atogepant belongs to a new class of drugs called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonists or gepants. Studies have shown that CGRP levels are elevated during migraine attacks and selective CGRP receptor antagonists confer clinical benefits in migraine.