AstraZeneca's Zomig nasal spray good for cluster headache

Results from a new pooled data analysis presented at the European Headache and Migraine Trust International Congress 2008 today show that zolmitriptan (Anglo-Swedish drug major AstraZeneca's Zomig) nasal spray provided fast and efficacious relief in the treatment of episodic and chronic cluster headache. The data shows that zolmitriptan nasal spray provided significant relief from cluster headache at 30 minutes - this maybe of real significance for patients whose current treatment options (oxygen inhalation, self administered sumatriptan injection or a combination of both) are limited due to inconvenience of use.

Zolmitriptan nasal spray has recently been approved in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany for the acute treatment of cluster headache, but is not yet licensed in the UK.

Data from the meta-analysis of two double-blind, randomized, cross-over studies involving 121 evaluable adult patients shows that zolmitriptan nasal spray provided significant cluster headache relief at 30 minutes compared to placebo at both 5mg and 10mg doses, meeting the primary endpoint of the study. The odds ratios (OR) for 5mg versus placebo is 3.48 (CI: 1.49, 8.10, p=0.004) and for 10mg compared with placebo is 8.68 (CI: 3.35, 22.5, p<0.001).1