Vernalis announces UK launch of frovatriptan
7 April 2003
Menarini to market frovatriptan as Migard® in the UK
Vernalis (LSE: VER) announces today that frovatriptan has been launched in the UK by its marketing partner Menarini. Frovatriptan, which will be known as Migard® in the UK, is licensed for the acute treatment of migraine attacks in adults aged 18-65 years. Frovatriptan is also marketed in the US, Germany and Ireland.Frovatriptan differs from other triptans in that it has a half-life(1) of 26 hours, which is 4-8 times longer than other drugs in the class. This coupled with data from clinical studies suggests a particular benefit for patients with long lasting migraine attacks. A migraine attack can last between 4-72 hours, with the average length of an untreated attack being 24 hours. Data has shown however that 71% of women and 48% of men have reported that their migraine attacks lasted for longer than a day. Frovatriptan may be of particular benefit to the 50% of female migraine sufferers who report that hormonal changes due to menstruation are a trigger for their migraine attacks. In these patients migraine symptoms can last several days.
Migraine, which affects 15% of the population, is characterised by recurring symptoms of moderate to severe throbbing pain on one or both sides of the head, nausea and sensitivity to light and sound.
The efficacy and tolerability of frovatriptan were demonstrated in three multi-centre randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trials. A single dose of frovatriptan 2.5 mg was effective in providing meaningful pain relief (reduction from moderate/severe headache to no/mild pain after four hours) in 56-65% patients compared to 31-38% for placebo controls. These differences were highly statistically significant (P<0.001). A further study of early use (ie early after the onset of headache) has shown that one 2.5 mg frovatriptan tablet gives benefits at two and four hours which may be sustained over 24 hours in terms of headache relief and maintenance of daily activities. It is recommended that frovatriptan be used as early as possible in the course of a migraine attack (after the onset of headache).
Frovatriptan is well tolerated; safety studies demonstrate a low level of side effects.
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