Eptinezumab’s Real-World Impact as Chronic Migraine Treatment: Amaal Starling, MD, FAHS, FAAN

WATCH TIME: 4 minutes

"We observed overall high levels of satisfaction among individuals using eptinezumab who also reported that they experienced a greater number of 'good days,' as defined by the patients themselves. The satisfaction extended to the reduction of migraine symptoms, encompassing improvements in frequency, severity, and duration of attacks. Notably, there was improvement not only in pain-related symptoms but also in nonpain migraine symptoms, including the significant issue of brain fog, which patients found to be crucial."

Eptinezumab (Vyepti; Lundbeck), an FDA-approved humanized monoclonal antibody for migraine in adults, binds to calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) ligand and blocks its binding to the receptor, providing effective suppression of migraine status.¹ The efficacy and safety of eptinezumab were demonstrated in 2 phase 3 clinical trials; episodic migraine in PROMISE-1 (NCT02559895) and chronic migraine in PROMISE-2 (NCT02974153). In the studies, the therapy met its primary end point of decrease in mean monthly migraine days over months 1—3 in both episodic and chronic migraine. The most common adverse events observed were nasopharyngitis and hypersensitivity.

Recently at the 2023 American Headache Society’s (AHS) Scottsdale Headache Symposium, held November 16-19, in Scottsdale, Arizona, Amaal Starling, MD, FAHS, FAAN, associate professor, department of neurology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, and colleagues presented in a talk titled “Data in action: Incorporating Recent Research into Treatment Decisions with an anti-CGRP mAb.” The symposia, sponsored by Lundbeck, highlighted new data about migraine's impact on concentration, the symptoms that are often associated with brain fog, as well as explored high-frequency migraine and treatment with eptinezumab.

Following the recent meeting, Starling sat down in an interview with NeurologyLive® to discuss how eptinezumab performed in a real-world study involving patients with chronic migraine, and some of the key satisfaction levels as reported by the participants. She also shared what insights the study provides regarding the impact of eptinezumab on both pain and nonpain migraine symptoms, and how this contributes to patient well-being. Additionally, Starling spoke about the notable takeaways regarding the effectiveness of eptinezumab in improving daily living, work productivity, and overall satisfaction, in the cohort of highly treatment-experienced patients.

REFERENCES
1. FDA Approves Lundbeck’s VYEPTI (eptinezumab-jjmr) — The First and Only Intravenous Preventive Treatment for Migraine. News Release. Lundbeck.Published February 21, 2020. Accessed November 27, 2023.https://newsroom.lundbeckus.com/news-release/2020/fda-approves-lundbecks-vyepti-eptinezumab-jjmr-for-migraine