Insight on USFDA approval of Allergan’s Ubrelvy

Allergan plc announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a New Drug Application (NDA) for Ubrelvy (ubrogepant) for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults.

Ubrelvy is the first and only orally-administered calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist (gepant) for the treatment of migraine attacks once they start. Migraine is a neurological disease characterised by intermittent migraine attacks with symptoms that are often incapacitating. Migraine afflicts 31 million Americans and is the third most common disease and second leading cause of disability worldwide.

About Ubrelvy (ubrogepant) 

Ubrelvy (ubrogepant) is a novel, highly potent, orally-administered calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist (gepant) for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults that is an option for a wide range of patients who experience migraine attacks. It works in a new way by blocking CGRP, a protein released during a migraine attack, from binding to its receptors. It works without constricting blood vessels, which some older treatments are known to do. CGRP receptor antagonism is a completely new mechanism of action for the acute treatment of migraine.

Clinical basis of approval

In clinical trials supporting the FDA’s approval, Ubrelvy provided quick pain relief for the majority of migraine patients. Ubrelvy also met co-primary endpoints of freedom from pain and freedom from the most bothersome symptom (nausea, hypersensitivity to light, or hypersensitivity to sound), a recent, more stringent standard of efficacy the FDA set in 2018. Ubrelvy provided lasting relief up to 24 hours as well. Ubrelvy works in a new way by blocking CGRP, a protein that is released during a migraine attack, from binding to its receptors. It works without constricting blood vessels, which some older treatments are known to do. Ubrelvy is non-narcotic, not scheduled, and does not have addiction potential. It has been approved with two dose strengths, 50 mg and 100 mg, and is specially designed so healthcare providers can provide a personalized treatment approach for appropriate patients.

The FDA approval for Ubrelvy is based on four clinical studies (ACHIEVE I, ACHIEVE II, UBR-MD-04 and 3110-105-002), which demonstrated efficacy, safety and tolerability of orally-administered Ubrelvy in the acute treatment of migraine. The two pivotal phase 3 clinical trials (ACHIEVE I and ACHIEVE II) established the safety and efficacy profile of Ubrelvy. Both 50 mg and 100 mg dose strengths demonstrated significantly greater rates of pain freedom and freedom from the most bothersome migraine-associated symptom at two hours, compared with placebo.

Ubrelvy will be available in the first quarter of 2020.