Fremanezumab: Chronic and episodic migraine medication approved for use within NHS Scotland

On 13th January, 2020 the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) announced that Fremanezumab (Ajovy) has been accepted for restricted use within NHS Scotland, for the treatment of adults with chronic and episodic migraine who have had prior failure on three or more migraine preventive treatments.

Ajovy, from Teva Pharmaceuticals, is the first dedicated migraine preventive medication that will be available to treat both chronic and episodic migraine.

It is a new class of drug which works by inhibiting a small protein found in nerve cells called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), which is believed to be involved in causing the pain in migraine attacks.

Scotland is the only nation in the UK where CGRP inhibitors have been approved to treat migraine on the NHS.