On Feb. 21, 2020, Lundbeck announced that VYEPTI™ (eptinezumab-jjmr) had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults and was planned to be available in April 2020. The recommended dose is 100 mg every 3 months; some patients may benefit from a dose of 300 mg. VYEPTI is the first FDA-approved intravenous (IV) treatment for migraine prevention.

The efficacy and safety of VYEPTI was demonstrated in two phase III clinical trials (PROMISE-1 in episodic migraine and PROMISE-2 in chronic migraine). The clinical trial program demonstrated a treatment benefit over placebo that was observed for both doses of VYEPTI as early as day 1 post-infusion, and the percentage of patients experiencing a migraine was lower for VYEPTI than with placebo for most of the first 7 days.

The safety of VYEPTI was evaluated in 2,076 patients with migraine who received at least one dose of VYEPTI. The most common adverse reactions (≥2 percent and at least 2 percent or greater than placebo) in the clinical trials for the preventive treatment of migraine were nasopharyngitis and hypersensitivity. In PROMISE-1 and PROMISE-2, 1.9 percent of patients treated with VYEPTI discontinued treatment due to adverse reactions.

VYEPTI™ (eptinezumab-jjmr) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) ligand and blocks its binding to the receptor. Lundbeck has submitted an application for market authorization of VYEPTI in Canada and also plans to file in the European Union during 2020, followed by the submission of applications in other regions and countries around the world, including China and Japan.

Migraine is a complex and incapacitating neurological disease characterized by recurrent episodes of severe headaches typically accompanied by an array of symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, and sensitivity to light or sound. It is estimated to affect approximately 39 million people in the U.S. and more than 1.3 billion worldwide, and impacts three times as many women than men. It is the second leading cause of years lived with disability (YLD) among all diseases, and is the top YLD cause among patients aged 15 to 49 years, according to the Global Burden of Disease study. Migraine has a profound impact on patients’ lives, their relationships, as well as their ability to carry out activities of daily living. More than 157 million work days are lost each year in the U.S. due to migraine.