WASHINGTON — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new drug for the treatment of migraines.
The FDA announced the approval of the drug ubrogepant which is said to be the first drug in its class approved for those suffering with migraines. The FDA says migraine headache pain is described as an intense throbbing or even a pulsating pain in one area of the head.
Common migraine drugs work by constricting blood vessels around the brain, so these drugs pose a problem for people who are at risk for stroke or cardiovascular disease. The FDA says ubrogepant targets a protein that is part of the pain transmission. This class of drugs are called oral calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonists.
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According to the FDA, migraine headaches are three times more likely to affect women than men, and these types of headaches affect over 10 percent of people around the globe.
In a study, the drug was over 19 percent effective for study participants who took ubrogepant. People reported being free of pain in two hours, according to the study, and 40 percent saw debilitating symptoms like light and noise sensitivity relieved.
