New migraine drug on NHS could help thousands of patients in England

Thousands of people in England who get migraines could benefit from a drug that has been approved on the NHS.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), the drugs regulator, said it was recommending rimegepant for preventing migraines in the approximately 145,000 adults where at least three previous preventive treatments had failed.

The drug, also called Vydura and made by Pfizer, is taken as a wafer which dissolves under the tongue. It is the first time Nice has recommended an oral treatment for preventing migraines.

“Each year the lives of millions of people in England are blighted by migraine attacks,” said Helen Knight, the director of medicines evaluation at Nice. “They can be extremely debilitating and can significantly affect a person’s quality of life.

“Rimegepant is the first oral treatment for migraine to be recommended by Nice and for many thousands of people it is likely to be a welcome and more convenient addition to existing options for a condition that is often overlooked and undertreated.”

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Source: The Guardian, 31 March 2023