The NHS spending watchdog has recommended a once-daily pill to treat migraines on the health service in England for the first time in a move that will provide more treatment options for some 170,000 sufferers. A migraine charity has called for “swift” access to the drug to ensure patients with the debilitating condition “can benefit from them as quickly as possible”.
Atogepant – sold under the brand name Aquipta and made by AbbVie – has been given the green light for NHS use under new final draft guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice). It will be an option for people who have at least four migraine days a month, and who have tried at least three other treatments to no avail. The pill works by blocking the receptor of a protein found in the sensory nerves of the head and neck, known as calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP).The guidance is expected to give more choice to about 170,000 patients in England, Nice said. Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at Nice, said: “Currently, the most effective options for people with chronic migraines who have already tried three preventative treatments are drugs that need to be injected. “The committee heard from patient experts that some people cannot have injectable treatments, for example because they have an allergy or phobia of needles.” Ms Knight said patients with chronic migraines – that happen on more than 15 days of the month – “would welcome an oral treatment