Eptienzumab (Vyepti) was just approved by the FDA for the preventive treatment of migraine headaches. Eptinezumab is another monoclonal antibody that blocks the effect of CGRP, a chemical released during a migraine attack. It joins erenumab (Aimovig), fremanezumab (Ajovy), and galcanezumab (Emgality), three other monoclonal antibodies approved for the preventive treatment of migraine headaches.
Eptinezumab is different from the other three drugs in that it is administered intravenously. It is given every three months by an infusion over 30 minutes. The other three drugs are self-administered subcutaneously every month, although fremaezumab can be also given every 3 months.
Eptinezumab may also have a faster onset of action because it is administered intravenously and quickly reaches its peak concentration in the blood. The other three drugs take up to a week to reach their maximum concentration. The reason for such a long delay (most drugs injected subcutaneously take less than an hour to peak) is that the monoclonal antibodies are large molecules and are distributed not by blood vessels, but the slow-moving lymphatic system. On the other hand, these are preventive therapies, so the speed of onset is less critical than for abortive drugs, such as NSAIDs, triptans, and gepants (ubrogepant, rimegepant).
Theoretically, it is possible that eptinezumab could work for patients who do not respond to the other three drugs because of a better distribution of the drug and because these drugs are not identical. About 10% of my patients report significantly better response when switched from erenumab, which was first to be approved, to either fremanezumab or galcanezumab.
We don’t know yet what the drug will cost and how well the insurance companies will pay for it. All three subcutaneous drugs cost about $650 a shot and all three manufacturers offer a one-year free trial if the insurance refuses to pay. This does not apply to patients who have Medicare or Medicaid, which do not allow free trials or discount coupons. Fortunately, more and more insurers, including the government plans, are covering these drugs, albeit with some paperwork that needs to be completed by the doctor. The cost of eptinezumab will consist of two parts – the cost of the drug and the cost of the infusion.
