Abstract Details

Fremanezumab, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody (IgG2Δa) that selectively targets the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) pathway, is approved for preventive treatment of migraine in adults.

This US real-world, retrospective claims analysis evaluated health care resource utilization (HCRU) in patients with chronic or episodic migraine (CM/EM) for 12 months after first initiating fremanezumab treatment.

The IBM Marketscan Commercial and Medicare database identified adult patients (≥18 years) with ≥1 pharmacy claim for fremanezumab from September 1, 2018–March 31, 2019; ≥1 migraine diagnosis on or 12 months prior to the index date (date of earliest fremanezumab claim); and continuous enrollment for 12 months before (pre-index) and after (post-index) the index date. The study period was September 2017–March 2020. Patients who were pregnant during the study period were excluded. Baseline patient characteristics and overall/migraine-specific HCRU and associated costs were assessed 12 months pre- and post-initiation of fremanezumab.

2,354 eligible patients with migraine were identified. Most patients had EM (54%) and were female (86%); and mean[SD] age was 45.4[11.6] years. From 12 months pre-index to 12 months post-index, patients had statistically significant reductions in mean[SD] migraine-related emergency room (ER) visits (0.21[0.80] vs 0.15[0.96]) and total migraine-related outpatient visits (4.87[5.24] vs 4.38[5.02]; both P<0.0001). Mean[SD] migraine-related acute medication prescription claims decreased from 10.57[10.69] pre-index to 9.30[10.46] post-index (P<0.0001). Mean[SD] migraine-related costs decreased statistically significantly from 12 months pre-index to 12 months post-index, including migraine-related outpatient costs ($2,573.71[6,453.37] vs $2,485.70[7,112.81]), migraine-related acute medication costs ($1,346.46[3,124.83] vs $1,123.21[3,156.91]), and migraine-related ER costs ($292.41[1,280.84] vs $292.18[3,405.24]; all P<0.0001). Migraine-related inpatient visits and costs did not differ significantly pre- versus post-index.

Fremanezumab is associated with statistically significant reductions in migraine-related health care resource utilization and costs in the 12 months after first fremanezumab treatment initiation.