What is Emgality?
A new kind of drug
Emgality belongs to a new class of drugs called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonists. CGRP antagonists were designed specifically to prevent migraines. Emgality is a brand-name prescription medication that’s used to prevent migraines in adults. It comes as a prefilled pen or syringe that you use to give yourself a monthly injection.
Emgality can be used to prevent both chronic and episodic migraines. In clinical studies of people with chronic migraines, 28 percent of people who took Emgality for 3 months cut in half their number of migraine days per month. In clinical studies of people with episodic migraines, about 60 percent of people who took Emgality for 6 months cut in half their number of migraine days per month.
Emgality may be an especially effective option for people who’ve been unable to reduce their number of migraine days enough with other therapies. It may also be a good option for people who can’t take other medications to prevent migraines because of drug interactions or difficult side effects.
Side Effects The most common side effects of Emgality are injection site reactions. This can include the following effects at the site where you inject the drug
Redness
itchiness
pain
tenderness
Long-term side effects: Emgality is a recently approved medication in a new class of drugs. As a result, there’s very little long-term research on Emgality’s safety. The longest clinical study of Emgality lasted one year, and people in the study did not report any serious side effects caused by Emgality.
Injection site reaction was the most common side effect reported in the year-long study. Other side effects reported included:
respiratory tract infection
back pain
sore throat
sinus infection
Call The Manhattan Center For Headache & Neurology to find out if you are a candidate for Emgality. Learn about the Emgality copay card!
By: Rajni Bala, NP