The US Food and Drug Administration has approved a nasal spray developed by Pfizer as a means of quickly treating the painful symptoms associated with suffering from a migraine.
The drug, Zavzpret, also known as zavegepant, was approved on thursday for the treatment of acute migraine headaches with or without aura in adults. It is expected that launch in july, reported Reuters.
“The FDA approval of Zavzpret marks a significant advance for migraineurs who need to be pain-free and prefer alternative options to oral medications,” said Angela Hwang, Pfizer’s chief commercial officer and president of global biopharmaceutical businesses.
The FDA’s green light depended on late stage study datawhich showed that Zavzpret was more effective than placebo in 13 of 17 test categories, including pain relief in 15 minutes and restoration of normal function in approximately half an hour.
Among the 1,405 people who took part in the trial between October 2020 and August 2021, about 24% of those who took the drug said they experienced no pain two hours after treatment compared with 15% of people in the placebo group.
“When a migraine strikes, it has a significant negative impact on a person’s daily life,” said Kathleen Mullin, MD, associate medical director of the New England Institute of Headache and Neurology. “Among my migraine patients, one of the most important attributes of an acute treatment option is how quickly it works.”
TO Migraine is defined as a series of at least five headache attacks lasting between four and 72 hours, according to the National Headache Foundation. They can cause intense shooting pain or a throbbing sensation in the head, with other symptoms often including nausea, vomiting, or sensitivity to light and sound.
