A large real-world study has found that fremanezumab is associated with substantial improvements in migraine frequency, disability and healthcare resource use among patients treated in routine clinical practice in Germany and the United Kingdom. The findings provide important evidence on the effectiveness of calcitonin gene-related peptide targeted therapies beyond clinical trials.
The retrospective, non-interventional study reviewed medical records from adults with chronic or episodic migraine who initiated fremanezumab between mid-2019 and 2020 onwards, depending on country. Data were drawn from a physician panel-based, multicentre chart review, including 207 patients in Germany and 183 in the UK. Almost all UK participants had chronic migraine, reflecting reimbursement criteria at the time, while the German cohort included a mix of chronic and episodic migraine.
Clinical outcomes were assessed by comparing monthly migraine days and monthly headache days at baseline and three months after treatment initiation. Disability was measured using the Migraine Disability Assessment and Headache Impact Test-6. Migraine-related healthcare resource utilisation was analysed over the six months before and after starting fremanezumab.
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After three months of treatment, patients in both countries experienced marked reductions in migraine burden. Monthly migraine days fell by just over 60% in Germany and around 52% in the UK, with similar reductions in monthly headache days. A high proportion of patients achieved clinically meaningful response thresholds, with more than half reporting at least a 50% reduction in migraine days. Disability scores also improved significantly, indicating reduced impact on daily functioning.
Improvements in clinical outcomes were accompanied by reductions in healthcare use. Both cohorts showed significant decreases in outpatient visits, emergency or urgent care attendances, and inpatient admissions during the six months following treatment initiation. Reductions in acute and preventive migraine medication use were also observed, alongside low discontinuation rates and high treatment adherence.
Most patients had previously failed multiple preventive treatments, highlighting the relevance of the findings to treatment-resistant populations. Overall, the study supported fremanezumab as an effective preventive option in real-world settings and suggested it may reduce both patient burden and demand on healthcare services.
This news item has been summarised using AI and checked by humans before publication.
Sources
Dove Medical Press (Taylor & Francis Group)
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