SIMPLE JAB TO STOP MIGRAINES MISERY
A DRUG designed to stop the agony of regular migraine attacks has got the go-ahead.
A monthly jab is set to be approved for the UK, where one in seven suffer from the crippling headaches.
The makers hope the drug, named Erenumab, could be offered on the NHS as early as next year.
It is thought patients will be able to use an injector pen to treat themselves at home.
Wendy Thomas, of The Migraine Trust, said: “This is wonderful as this treatment has the potential to help many people with chronic and episodic migraine.
“Migraine is incredibly painful and has symptoms that include vomiting and visual disturbance, so getting it frequently can ruin lives. That is why it is important that it becomes available to patients as soon as possible.” The European Medicines Agency has granted an EU licence for its use for patients who have at least four migraines a month.
Manufacturer Novartis said that patients will be able to get the drug privately in September.
Erenumab is designed to block the activity of a molecule called calcitonin gene-related peptide, which is shown to increase during migraine attacks.
Reading University neuroscientist Dr Graeme Cottrell said: “Erenumab is an antibody that has been specially engineered to bind to the CGRP receptor… reducing the ability of CGRP to trigger migraines.”
Novartis MD Haseeb Ahmad said it would be the “first and only licensed treatment specifically designed to prevent migraine”.