Novel Medications for the Treatment of Migraine

To describe the new classes of medication for headache management and their roles in clinical practice.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is a key component in the underlying pathophysiology of migraine. Research focused on targeting CGRP for headache treatment has led to the development of entirely new classes of medications - the gepants and the CGRP monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) - for both acute and preventive treatment. A third class, the ditans, is being developed to target the 5-HT_1F receptor to provide acute treatment without vasoconstrictive effects.

This article reviews the pathophysiology of migraine that has led to these new pharmacologic developments. Available information from randomized controlled trials, abstracts, press releases, and relevant preclinical studies is summarized for each class of medications.

At the time of this writing, one ditan has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval. One gepant is anticipated to be submitted within the first quarter of 2019, and others are in clinical trials. Three CGRP mAbs have been FDA approved and are now available in clinical practice, and a fourth was submitted in the first quarter of 2019.

The development of new migraine-specific classes of medications provides more treatment options for both acute and preventive treatment of migraine.