Axert migraine therapy launched by Pharmacia in USA

Pharmacia's Axert (almotriptan malate), approved by the US Food and DrugAdministration earlier this year (Marketletter May 14) in 12.5mg and 6.25mg tablet formulations, is now available in that country on prescription for the treatment of migraine with or without aura in adults.

Clinical trials have demonstrated that the number of patients who experienced mild or no pain two hours after being treated with Axert was significantly greater when compared to placebo. The incidence of side effects was also low or similar to placebo; 2% of treated patients experienced nausea compared to 1% with placebo, 1% experienced dry mouth versus 0.5% in the control group, and 1% reported paresthesia while 0.5% did so with placebo.

This side-effect data is particularly significant following a survey conducted by the USA's National Headache Foundation revealed that two out of three migraine sufferers have delayed taking their medication or skipped doses altogether due to adverse events, reinforcing the need for new treatment options.