The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved Zavzpret, a new nasal spray designed to treat migraines in just 15 minutes.
The drug, which Pfizer acquired when you bought Biohaven Pharmaceuticals last year for $11.6 billion, will offer an alternative to oral migraine medication, reports NBCNews.
“The FDA approval of Zavzpret is a breakthrough for migraine sufferers who need pain relief and prefer alternative options to oral medications,” Angela Hwang, Pfizer’s chief commercial officer, said in a press release.
The drug will go on sale in July and expected to treat migraines with and without auras.
The doctors explained to NBCNews that nasal medication can help patients who have trouble retaining oral medication when suffering from migraines.
“Many patients, when they have migraines, vomit, for example, so they may not be able to keep oral medication down,” says Dr. Emad Estemalik, a headache specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. “That’s where an intranasal is an advantage“.
The drug is not the first nasal medication of its kind, but it is expected to work faster. According to Pfizer, the drug is thought to offer relief in 15 minutes.
The FDA’s approval of the drug was based on a study that showed that helped relieve migraines compared to placebo. For the 39 million Americans who suffer from migraines, the drug offers a new avenue of relief.
“When a migraine strikes, it has a significant negative impact on a person’s daily life,” Kathleen Mullin, associate medical director of the New England Institute for Neurology & Headache, said in a news release. “Among my migraine patients, one of the most important attributes of an acute treatment option is how quickly it works.”
