Tonabersat falls short in migraine trial

UK-based drugmaker Minster Pharmaceuticals, a specialist in the field of neurological and psychiatric disorders, says that data from a Phase IIa trial of its developmental migraine treatment tonabersat, indicate that it has some efficacy as preventative therapy, but that it did not demonstrate statistical superiority to placebo. The company added that the benefits brought by the drug, relative to placebo, continued to increase in the final month of the study.

Specifically, the firm reported that 62% of those subjects who received tonabersat experienced a 50% or greater reduction in the frequency of attacks, compared with 45% of the placebo cohort. In addition, the results indicated that treatment reduced the number of days on which rescue medications, painkillers such as GlaxoSmithKline's Imigran (sumatriptan succinate) were required 60%, versus placebo which brought about a 34% reduction. The company added that the drug was well-tolerated.

Despite the lack of statistical-superiority, principal study investigator Peter Goadsby, a professor of neurology at University College London, said the drug showed promise as a preventative therapy, and went on to recommend "fully-powered" studies to explore the benefits of higher doses over longer treatment periods.