Advances in orally administered pharmacotherapy for the treatment of migraine

INTRODUCTION: Migraine is a common and highly disabling neurological disorder whose acute treatment remains problematic and unsatisfactory in a high percentage of cases. Consequently, there remains a need for new symptomatic therapies that can be easily handled by patients (i.e. by oral administration). AREAS COVERED: This review reports on compounds currently under development for the oral treatment of acute migraine attacks, focusing on Calcitonin-Gene-Related-Peptide receptor antagonists, specifically ubrogepant and rimegepant. This article is based on literature obtained from PubMed and publicly available clinical trial data. EXPERT OPINION: Both reviewed compounds meet the need for rapid and effective pain control, combined with the control of associated bothersome symptoms while also lacking significant adverse events and safety concerns. Though further studies should assess the profile of these compounds comparatively with existing and available treatments (namely triptans), the currently available data points to these new therapies as being very promising new symptomatic oral treatments of migraines.