• QULIPTA^® now the first and only oral CGRP receptor antagonist approved to prevent migraine across frequencies, including episodic and chronic
• Expanded indication provides an additional treatment option for those with chronic migraine whose frequent disabling attacks negatively impact performance of daily activities
• Approval based on a clinical trial that demonstrated statistically significant reduction from baseline in mean monthly migraine days and improvements in function and reduction in activity impairment
• AbbVie is the only company with three prescription treatments designed to meet patient needs across the full spectrum of migraine

NORTH CHICAGO, Ill., April 17, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved expanding the indication of QULIPTA^® (atogepant) for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults. The approval makes QULIPTA the first and only oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist approved to prevent episodic and chronic migraine. People living with chronic migraine experience headaches for 15 or more days per month, with at least eight of those days associated with migraine.¹

Experience the full interactive Multichannel News Release here: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/9120951-abbvie-qulipta-migraine/

"Since September 2021, QULIPTA has helped people living with episodic migraine prevent migraine attacks, reducing the daily burden of migraine. Now, those with the most challenging to treat chronic migraine can also rely on QULIPTA to significantly reduce their migraine days," said Roopal Thakkar, senior vice president, chief medical officer, AbbVie. "This approval makes AbbVie the only company with three treatments across the spectrum of migraine, including QULIPTA as a preventive treatment for both episodic and chronic migraine; BOTOX^® (onabotulinumtoxinA), our foundational, first FDA-approved preventive treatment for chronic migraine; and UBRELVY^® (ubrogepant), an acute treatment for migraine attacks."

QULIPTA's expanded chronic migraine indication is based on the pivotal Phase 3 PROGRESS trial evaluating QULIPTA 60 mg once daily in adult patients with chronic migraine, which met its primary endpoint of statistically significant reduction from baseline in mean monthly migraine days compared to placebo across the 12-week treatment period.² The average monthly migraine days (MMDs) for patients at baseline during the clinical trial was 19.³ The trial also demonstrated that treatment with QULIPTA resulted in statistically significant improvements in all six secondary endpoints.³ This includes key secondary endpoints that measured the proportion of patients that achieved at least a 50 percent reduction in mean monthly migraine days across the 12-week treatment period and improvements in function and reduction in activity impairment due to migraine.⁴ These efficacy results are consistent with those in the ADVANCE episodic migraine trial.⁵ 

"The FDA approval is an important milestone, providing those most impacted by migraine with a new, safe and effective treatment option in a convenient, once-daily pill," said Peter McAllister, M.D., Director of the New England Center for Neurology and Headache. "QULIPTA's data demonstrate that it helps reduce the burden of migraine by delivering improvements in function, with high response rates and sustained efficacy over 12 weeks. These are critical factors neurologists and headache specialists consider when prescribing a treatment option, particularly for those with chronic migraine."

QULIPTA blocks CGRP through a once-daily dose and is available in three strengths for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine – 10 mg, 30 mg and 60 mg. Only the 60 mg dose of QULIPTA is indicated for the preventive treatment of chronic migraine. The overall safety profile of QULIPTA is consistent with the episodic migraine patient population, with the most common adverse events including constipation, nausea and fatigue/sleepiness.⁶

"For years, I felt hopeless and struggled to find a treatment that not only reduced the number of migraine attacks but could also help reduce how often migraine impacted my daily activities like taking my kids to school or practices," said Latoya Lawrence, a patient who has lived with migraine for more than 20 years. "After I started taking QULIPTA for my episodic migraine, I wasn't as worried about when my next migraine attack might strike. I'm glad people living with chronic migraine now have a treatment option that has the potential to make a substantial impact on their lives."

About the Phase 3 PROGRESS Clinical Trial

The Phase 3 PROGRESS clinical trial evaluated the safety, tolerability and efficacy of oral QULIPTA  60mg once daily (QD) for the preventive treatment of chronic migraine.⁷ The patient population for the study included patients with a diagnosis of chronic migraine for at least one year, and greater than or equal to 15 headache days with greater than or equal to eight migraine days in the 28 days prior to randomization.⁷ The primary endpoint measured the reduction from baseline in mean monthly migraine days compared to placebo across a 12-week treatment period.⁷

Key secondary endpoints across the 12-week treatment period included: change from baseline in mean monthly headache days; change from baseline in mean monthly acute medication use days; proportion of participants with at least a 50% reduction in mean monthly migraine days; and change from baseline in Migraine Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire version 2.1 (MSQ v2.1) Role Function-Restrictive domain score at Week 12. The MSQ v2.1 is a questionnaire designed to measure health-related quality of life impairments attributed to migraine in the past four weeks. Key secondary endpoints also included change from baseline in Activity Impairment in Migraine-Diary (AIM-D) Performance of Daily Activities and Physical Impairment domain scores. The AIM-D is a novel questionnaire designed to evaluate difficulty with performance of daily activities and physical impairment due to migraine.

About QULIPTA^® (atogepant)

QULIPTA^® is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is available in the United States for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults. QULIPTA is the only oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist approved to prevent migraine across frequencies, including episodic and chronic. CGRP and its receptors are expressed in regions of the nervous system associated with migraine pathophysiology, and studies have shown that CGRP levels are elevated during migraine attacks. QULIPTA blocks CGRP through a once-daily dose and is available in three strengths for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine – 10 mg, 30 mg and 60 mg. Only the 60 mg dose of QULIPTA is approved for the preventive treatment of chronic migraine.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION

Do not take QULIPTA if you have had an allergic reaction to atogepant or any ingredients in QULIPTA.

Before taking QULIPTA^® (atogepant) tablets, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:

• Have kidney problems or are on dialysis
• Have liver problems
• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if QULIPTA will harm your unborn baby
• Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed. It is not known if QULIPTA passes into your breast milk. Talk to your healthcare provider about the best way to feed your baby while taking QULIPTA

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. QULIPTA may affect the way other medicines work, and other medicines may affect how QULIPTA works. Your healthcare provider may need to change the dose of QULIPTA when taken with certain other medicines.

QULIPTA can cause serious allergic (hypersensitivity) reactions, like anaphylaxis, that can happen when you take QULIPTA or days after. Stop taking QULIPTA and get emergency medical help right away if you get any of the following symptoms, which may be part of a serious allergic reaction: swelling of the face, lips, or tongue; itching; trouble breathing; hives; or rash.

The most common side effects of QULIPTA are nausea, constipation, and fatigue/sleepiness. These are not all the possible side effects of QULIPTA.

Please see QULIPTA full Prescribing Information.

INDICATIONS
BOTOX^® (onabotulinumtoxinA) is a prescription medicine that is injected into muscles and used:

• To treat overactive bladder symptoms such as a strong need to urinate with leaking or wetting accidents (urge urinary incontinence), a strong need to urinate right away (urgency), and urinating often (frequency) in adults 18 years and older when another type of medicine (anticholinergic) does not work well enough or cannot be taken
• To treat leakage of urine (incontinence) in adults 18 years and older with overactive bladder due to a neurologic disease when another type of medicine (anticholinergic) does not work well enough or cannot be taken
• To treat overactive bladder due to a neurologic disease in children 5 years of age and older when another type of medicine (anticholinergic) does not work well enough or cannot be taken
• To prevent headaches in adults with chronic migraine who have 15 or more days each month with headache lasting 4 or more hours each day in people 18 years and older
• To treat increased muscle stiffness in people 2 years of age and older with spasticity
• To treat the abnormal head position and neck pain that happens with cervical dystonia (CD) in people 16 years and older
• To treat certain types of eye muscle problems (strabismus) or abnormal spasm of the eyelids (blepharospasm) in people 12 years of age and older

BOTOX is also injected into the skin to treat the symptoms of severe underarm sweating (severe primary axillary hyperhidrosis) when medicines used on the skin (topical) do not work well enough in people 18 years and older.

It is not known whether BOTOX is safe and effective to prevent headaches in patients with migraine who have 14 or fewer headache days each month (episodic migraine).

BOTOX has not been shown to help people perform task-specific functions with their upper limbs or increase movement in joints that are permanently fixed in position by stiff muscles.

It is not known whether BOTOX is safe and effective for severe sweating anywhere other than your armpits.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
BOTOX may cause serious side effects that can be life threatening. Get medical help right away if you have any of these problems any time (hours to weeks) after injection of BOTOX:

• Problems swallowing, speaking, or breathing, due to weakening of associated muscles, can be severe and result in loss of life. You are at the highest risk if these problems are preexisting before injection. Swallowing problems may last for several months.
• Spread of toxin effects. The effect of botulinum toxin may affect areas away from the injection site and cause serious symptoms, including loss of strength and all-over muscle weakness; double vision; blurred vision; drooping eyelids; hoarseness or change or loss of voice; trouble saying words clearly; loss of bladder control; trouble breathing; and trouble swallowing.

There has not been a confirmed serious case of spread of toxin effect away from the injection site when BOTOX has been used at the recommended dose to treat chronic migraine, severe underarm sweating, blepharospasm, or strabismus.

BOTOX may cause loss of strength or general muscle weakness, vision problems, or dizziness within hours to weeks of receiving BOTOX. If this happens, do not drive a car, operate machinery, or do other dangerous activities.

Do not receive BOTOX if you are allergic to any of the ingredients in BOTOX (see Medication Guide for ingredients); had an allergic reaction to any other botulinum toxin product such as Myobloc^® (rimabotulinumtoxinB), Dysport^® (abobotulinumtoxinA), or Xeomin^® (incobotulinumtoxinA); have a skin infection at the planned injection site.

Do not receive BOTOX for the treatment of urinary incontinence if you have a urinary tract infection (UTI) or cannot empty your bladder on your own and are not routinely catheterizing. Due to the risk of urinary retention (difficulty fully emptying the bladder), only patients who are willing and able to initiate catheterization posttreatment, if required, should be considered for treatment.

Patients treated for overactive bladder: In clinical trials, 36 of the 552 patients had to self-catheterize for urinary retention following treatment with BOTOX compared to 2 of the 542 treated with placebo. The median duration of postinjection catheterization for these patients treated with BOTOX 100 Units (n = 36) was 63 days (minimum 1 day to maximum 214 days), as compared to a median duration of 11 days (minimum 3 days to maximum 18 days) for patients receiving placebo (n = 2). Patients with diabetes mellitus treated with BOTOX were more likely to develop urinary retention than nondiabetics.

Adult patients treated for overactive bladder due to a neurologic disease: In clinical trials, 30.6% of adult patients (33/108) who were not using clean intermittent catheterization (CIC) prior to injection required catheterization for urinary retention following treatment with BOTOX 200 Units, as compared to 6.7% of patients (7/104) treated with placebo. The median duration of postinjection catheterization for these patients treated with BOTOX 200 Units (n = 33) was 289 days (minimum 1 day to maximum 530 days), as compared to a median duration of 358 days (minimum 2 days to maximum 379 days) for patients receiving placebo (n = 7).

Among adult patients not using CIC at baseline, those with multiple sclerosis were more likely to require CIC postinjection than those with spinal cord injury.

The dose of BOTOX is not the same as, or comparable to, another botulinum toxin product.

Serious and/or immediate allergic reactions have been reported, including itching; rash; red, itchy welts; wheezing; asthma symptoms; dizziness; or feeling faint. Get medical help right away if you experience symptoms; further injection of BOTOX should be discontinued.

Tell your doctor about all your muscle or nerve conditions, such as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease, myasthenia gravis, or Lambert-Eaton syndrome, as you may be at increased risk of serious side effects, including difficulty swallowing and difficulty breathing from typical doses of BOTOX.

Tell your doctor if you have any breathing-related problems. Your doctor may monitor you for breathing problems during treatment with BOTOX for spasticity or for detrusor overactivity associated with a neurologic condition. The risk of developing lung disease in patients with reduced lung function is increased in patients receiving BOTOX.

Cornea problems have been reported. Cornea (surface of the eye) problems have been reported in some people receiving BOTOX for their blepharospasm, especially in people with certain nerve disorders. BOTOX may cause the eyelids to blink less, which could lead to the surface of the eye being exposed to air more than is usual. Tell your doctor if you experience any problems with your eyes while receiving BOTOX. Your doctor may treat your eyes with drops, ointments, contact lenses, or with an eye patch.

Bleeding behind the eye has been reported. Bleeding behind the eyeball has been reported in some people receiving BOTOX for their strabismus. Tell your doctor if you notice any new visual problems while receiving BOTOX.

Bronchitis and upper respiratory tract infections (common colds) have been reported. Bronchitis was reported more frequently in adults receiving BOTOX for upper limb spasticity. Upper respiratory infections were also reported more frequently in adults with prior breathing-related problems with spasticity. In pediatric patients treated with BOTOX for upper limb spasticity, upper respiratory tract infections were reported more frequently. In pediatric patients treated with BOTOX for lower limb spasticity, upper respiratory tract infections were not reported more frequently than placebo.

Autonomic dysreflexia in patients treated for overactive bladder due to a neurologic disease. Autonomic dysreflexia associated with intradetrusor injections of BOTOX could occur in patients treated for detrusor overactivity associated with a neurologic condition and may require prompt medical therapy. In clinical trials, the incidence of autonomic dysreflexia was greater in adult patients treated with BOTOX 200 Units compared with placebo (1.5% versus 0.4%, respectively).

Tell your doctor about all your medical conditions, including if you have or have had bleeding problems; have plans to have surgery; had surgery on your face; have weakness of forehead muscles, trouble raising your eyebrows, drooping eyelids, and any other abnormal facial change; have symptoms of a UTI and are being treated for urinary incontinence (symptoms of a UTI may include pain or burning with urination, frequent urination, or fever); have problems emptying your bladder on your own and are being treated for urinary incontinence; are pregnant or plan to become pregnant (it is not known if BOTOX can harm your unborn baby); are breastfeeding or plan to (it is not known if BOTOX passes into breast milk).

Tell your doctor about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Using BOTOX with certain other medicines may cause serious side effects. Do not start any new medicines until you have told your doctor that you have received BOTOX in the past.

Tell your doctor if you received any other botulinum toxin product in the last 4 months; have received injections of botulinum toxin such as Myobloc^®, Dysport^®, or Xeomin^® in the past (tell your doctor exactly which product you received); have recently received an antibiotic by injection; take muscle relaxants; take an allergy or cold medicine; take a sleep medicine; take aspirin-like products or blood thinners.

Other side effects of BOTOX include dry mouth; discomfort or pain at the injection site; tiredness; headache; neck pain; eye problems such as double vision, blurred vision, decreased eyesight, drooping eyelids, swelling of your eyelids, and dry eyes; drooping eyebrows; and upper respiratory tract infection. In adults being treated for urinary incontinence, other side effects include UTI and painful urination. In children being treated for urinary incontinence, other side effects include UTI and bacteria in the urine. In patients being treated for urinary incontinence, another side effect includes the inability to empty your bladder on your own. If you have difficulty fully emptying your bladder on your own after receiving BOTOX, you may need to use disposable self-catheters to empty your bladder up to a few times each day until your bladder is able to start emptying again.

For more information, refer to the Medication Guide or talk with your doctor.

Please see BOTOX^® full Product Information, including Boxed Warning and Medication Guide.

About UBRELVY^® (ubrogepant)
UBRELVY^® is an orally administered calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist (gepant) for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults that is an option for a wide range of patients who experience migraine attacks. UBRELVY^® is the first pill of its kind to directly block CGRP, a protein released during a migraine attack, from binding to its receptors.

What is UBRELVY^® (ubrogepant)?
UBRELVY is a prescription medicine used for the acute treatment of migraine attacks with or without aura in adults. UBRELVY is not used to prevent migraine headaches.

IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Do not take UBRELVY if you are taking medicines known as strong CYP3A4 inhibitors, such as ketoconazole, clarithromycin, or itraconazole, or if you are allergic to UBRELVY or any of its ingredients.

Before taking UBRELVY, tell your healthcare provider about all your medical conditions, including if you:

• Have liver problems
• Have kidney problems
• Are pregnant or plan to become pregnant
• Are breastfeeding or plan to breastfeed

Tell your healthcare provider about all the medicines you take, including prescription and over-the-counter medicines, vitamins, and herbal supplements. Your healthcare provider can tell you if it is safe to take UBRELVY with other medicines.

UBRELVY may cause serious side effects, including allergic reactions. Most reactions happened within hours after taking UBRELVY and were not serious. Some reactions may occur days after taking UBRELVY. Call your healthcare provider or get emergency help right away if you have swelling of the face, mouth, tongue, or throat or trouble breathing.

The most common side effects of UBRELVY are nausea (4%) and sleepiness (3%). These are not all of the possible side effects of UBRELVY.

Please see UBRELVY full Prescribing Information.

You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA.
Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

If you are having difficulty paying for your medicine, AbbVie may be able to help.
Visit AbbVie.com/myAbbVieAssist to learn more.

About Migraine and Chronic Migraine

Migraine is a complex neurological disease with recurrent attacks that are often incapacitating and characterized by severe, throbbing headache pain as well as compounding associated symptoms like extreme sensitivity to light, sound or nausea.⁸ It is highly prevalent, affecting more than 1 billion people worldwide, including nearly 40 million people in the United States alone, and is the highest cause of disability worldwide for people under 50 years of age.^9-12

People living with chronic migraine experience headaches or migraine for 15 or more days per month, with at least eight of those days associated with migraine.¹³ It is differentiated from episodic migraine, which is characterized by 0-14 headache days per month,¹⁴ by its more debilitating disease profile including greater prevalence of comorbid conditions as well as higher frequency of headache and migraine days.^14-16 Individuals with chronic migraine experience frequent disabling migraine attacks, preventing them from performing daily activities and significantly affecting their quality of life. This results in substantial societal and familial burden.^17-21 Significant direct and indirect costs are also associated with chronic migraine, leading to economic burden for patients and healthcare systems.^22-24

About AbbVie in Migraine

AbbVie is the only company with three prescription treatments designed to meet patient needs across the full spectrum of migraine to help patients living with this debilitating disease.

• QULIPTA^® (atogepant) is FDA-approved for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults. It is the only oral calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist approved to prevent migraine across frequencies, including episodic and chronic. Since its initial approval for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine in September 2021, QULIPTA has been prescribed for nearly 200,000 patients.
• BOTOX^® (onabotulinumtoxinA) is the first FDA-approved, preventive treatment for adult patients with chronic migraine. Since FDA approval in 2010, more than 5 million BOTOX^® treatments given to more than 850,000 people living with chronic migraine.
• UBRELVY^® (ubrogepant) is the first FDA-approved CGRP treatment for the acute treatment of migraine attacks in adults. Since its approval in December 2019, UBRELVY^® has been prescribed for nearly 750,000 patients. It can be used in patients across the entire spectrum of migraine and regardless of other treatments (acute or preventive) they may be on or have tried.

At AbbVie, we are committed to empowering people living with migraine disease. We advance science that enables healthcare providers to care for people impacted across the spectrum of migraine. Through education and partnerships with the migraine community, we strive to help those with migraine navigate barriers to care, access effective treatments and reduce the impact of migraine on their lives.

About AbbVie in Neuroscience

At AbbVie, our commitment to preserve the personhood of those living with neurological and psychiatric disorders is unwavering. Every challenge in this uncharted territory makes us more determined and drives us harder to discover and deliver solutions for patients, care partners and clinicians. AbbVie's Neuroscience portfolio consists of approved therapies in neurological and psychiatric disorders, including bipolar I disorder, cervical dystonia, major depressive disorder, migraine, Parkinson's disease, post-stroke spasticity, schizophrenia and others along with a robust pipeline.

We have a strong investment in neuroscience research, with our Foundational Neuroscience Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and our Neuroscience Discovery site in Ludwigshafen, Germany, where our research and resilience in these challenging therapeutic areas is yielding a deeper understanding of the pathophysiology of neurological and psychiatric disorders, and identifying targets for potential disease-modifying therapeutics aimed at making a difference in people's lives.

About AbbVie 

AbbVie's mission is to discover and deliver innovative medicines that solve serious health issues today and address the medical challenges of tomorrow. We strive to have a remarkable impact on people's lives across several key therapeutic areas: immunology, oncology, neuroscience, eye care, virology and gastroenterology, in addition to products and services across our Allergan Aesthetics portfolio. For more information about AbbVie, please visit us at www.abbvie.com. Follow @abbvie on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn.

SOURCE:- prnewswire