A medication to prevent migraines yielded positive results in a final experimental trial, the last step before having enough data to be submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for approval.
Teva Pharmaceuticals announced Wednesday the successful completion of their Phase III HALO study of fremanezumab, a medication used to prevent migraines.
“Migraine is a serious, debilitating neurological condition that substantially impacts all aspects of a person’s life,” Dr. Michael Hayden, president of Global R&D and Chief Scientific Officer at Teva, said in a press release.
More than 38 million Americans experience migraines, according to the Migraine Research Institute, Migraines are characterized by severe head pain and can be accompanied by nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.
Fremanezumab was tested in a 16-week, multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and parallel group study of 1,130 patients. The drug was administered once a month as an injection of varying strengths.
Patients treated with fremanezumab were found to experience a reduction in the number of monthly headaches, Teva said in its statement. The most common side effect was pain at the injection site.
“We are excited about our development progress and look forward to sharing more detailed results with the migraine community at future scientific conferences,” Dr. Ernesto Aycardi, Teva’s vice president of Therapeutical Area Head, Headache & Migraine, said in a statement.
• Laura Kelly can be reached at lkelly@washingtontimes.com.
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