Oral rimegepant for preventive treatment of migraine: a phase 2/3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Rimegepant is a calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist that has shown efficacy and safety in the acute treatment of migraine. We aimed to compare the efficacy of rimegepant with placebo for preventive treatment of migraine. METHODS: We did a multicentre, phase 2/3, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial at 92 sites in the USA. Adults with at least a 1-year history of migraine were recruited. After a 4-week observation period, eligible participants were randomised using an interactive web response system to oral rimegepant 75 mg or matching placebo every other day for 12 weeks (double-blind treatment phase). The primary efficacy endpoint was change from the 4-week observation period in the mean number of migraine days per month in the last 4 weeks of the double-blind treatment phase (weeks 9-12). Participants who received at least one dose of their assigned study medication and who had 14 days or more of data in the observation period and 14 days or more of data for at least one 4-week interval during the double-blind treatment phase were analysed for efficacy. Those who received at least one dose of study medication were analysed for safety. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03732638. FINDINGS: Between Nov 14, 2018, and Aug 30, 2019, 1591 participants were recruited and assessed for eligibility, of whom 747 were randomly allocated either rimegepant (n=373) or placebo (n=374). 695 participants were included in the analysis for efficacy, of whom 348 were assigned rimegepant and 347 were allocated placebo. Rimegepant was superior to placebo on the primary endpoint of change in the mean number of migraine days per month during weeks 9-12. The change from the observation period in mean number of migraine days per month during weeks 9-12 was -4·3 days (95% CI -4·8 to -3·9) with rimegepant and -3·5 days (-4·0 to -3·0) with placebo (least squares mean difference -0·8 days, 95% CI -1·46 to -0·20; p=0·0099). 741 participants received study medication and were included in the safety analysis. 133 (36%) of 370 patients who received rimegepant reported an adverse event, compared with 133 (36%) of 371 who received placebo. Seven (2%) participants who received rimegepant and four (1%) who received placebo discontinued the study due to an adverse event; no patients died. INTERPRETATION: Taken every other day, rimegepant was effective for preventive treatment of migraine. Tolerability was similar to that of placebo, and no unexpected or serious safety issues were noted. FUNDING: Biohaven Pharmaceuticals.

Rimegepant, an Oral Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide Receptor Antagonist, for Migraine.

BACKGROUND: Calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor has been implicated in the pathogenesis of migraine. Rimegepant is an orally administered, small-molecule, calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist that may be effective in acute migraine treatment. METHODS: In a multicenter, double-blind, phase 3 trial, we randomly assigned adults with at least a 1-year history of migraine and two to eight migraine attacks of moderate or severe intensity per month to receive rimegepant orally at a dose of 75 mg or matching placebo for the treatment of a single migraine attack. The primary end points were freedom from pain and freedom from the most bothersome symptom (other than pain) identified by the patient, both of which were assessed 2 hours after the dose of rimegepant or placebo was administered. RESULTS: A total of 1186 patients were randomly assigned to receive rimegepant (594 patients) or placebo (592 patients); of these, 537 patients in the rimegepant group and 535 patients in the placebo group could be evaluated for efficacy. The overall mean age of the patients evaluated for efficacy was 40.6 years, and 88.7% were women. In a modified intention-to-treat analysis, the percentage of patients who were pain-free 2 hours after receiving the dose was 19.6% in the rimegepant group and 12.0% in the placebo group (absolute difference, 7.6 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.3 to 11.9; P<0.001). The percentage of patients who were free from their most bothersome symptom 2 hours after the dose was 37.6% in the rimegepant group and 25.2% in the placebo group (absolute difference, 12.4 percentage points; 95% CI, 6.9 to 17.9; P<0.001). The most common adverse events were nausea and urinary tract infection. CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of a migraine attack with the oral calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist rimegepant resulted in a higher percentage of patients who were free of pain and free from their most bothersome symptom than placebo. (Funded by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03237845.).

Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of rimegepant orally disintegrating tablet for the acute treatment of migraine: a randomised, phase 3, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Rimegepant, a small molecule calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist, has shown efficacy in the acute treatment of migraine using a standard tablet formulation. The objective of this trial was to compare the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of a novel orally disintegrating tablet formulation of rimegepant at 75 mg with placebo in the acute treatment of migraine. METHODS: In this double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, multicentre phase 3 trial, adults aged 18 years or older with history of migraine of at least 1 year were recruited to 69 study centres in the USA. Participants were randomly assigned to receive rimegepant (75 mg orally disintegrating tablet) or placebo and instructed to treat a single migraine attack of moderate or severe pain intensity. The randomisation was stratified by the use of prophylactic medication (yes or no), and was carried out using an interactive web response system that was accessed by each clinical site. All participants, investigators, and the sponsor were masked to treatment group assignment. The coprimary endpoints were freedom from pain and freedom from the most bothersome symptom at 2 h postdose. The efficacy analyses used the modified intention-to-treat population, which included all patients who were randomly assigned, had a migraine attack with pain of moderate or severe intensity, took a dose of rimegepant or placebo, and had at least one efficacy assessment after administration of the dose. The safety analyses included all randomly assigned participants who received at least one dose of study medication. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT03461757, and is closed to accrual. FINDINGS: Between Feb 27 and Aug 28, 2018, 1811 participants were recruited and assessed for eligibility. 1466 participants were randomly assigned to the rimegepant (n=732) or placebo (n=734) groups, of whom 1375 received treatment with rimegepant (n=682) or placebo (n=693), and 1351 were evaluated for efficacy (rimegepant n=669, placebo n=682). At 2 h postdose, rimegepant orally disintegrating tablet was superior to placebo for freedom from pain (21% vs 11%, p<0·0001; risk difference 10, 95% CI 6-14) and freedom from the most bothersome symptom (35% vs 27%, p=0·0009; risk difference 8, 95% CI 3-13). The most common adverse events were nausea (rimegepant n=11 [2%]; placebo n=3 [<1%]) and urinary tract infection (rimegepant n=10 [1%]; placebo n=4 [1%]). One participant in each treatment group had a transaminase concentration of more than 3â€ˆ× the upper limit of normal; neither was related to study medication, and no elevations in bilirubin greater than 2â€ˆ× the upper limit of normal were reported. Treated participants reported no serious adverse events. INTERPRETATION: In the acute treatment of migraine, a single 75 mg dose of rimegepant in an orally disintegrating tablet formulation was more effective than placebo. Tolerability was similar to placebo, with no safety concerns. FUNDING: Biohaven Pharmaceuticals.

Multicenter, randomized, double-blind, active comparator and placebo-controlled trial of a corticotropin-releasing factor receptor-1 antagonist in generalized anxiety disorder.

BACKGROUND: Antagonism of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) receptors has been hypothesized as a potential target for the development of novel anxiolytics. This study was designed to determine the safety and efficacy of pexacerfont, a selective CRF-1 receptor antagonist, in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). METHOD: This was a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled and active comparator trial. Two hundred and sixty patients were randomly assigned to pexacerfont 100 mg/day (after a 1 week loading dose of 300 mg/day), placebo or escitalopram 20 mg/day in a 2:2:1 ratio. The primary outcome was the mean change from baseline to end point (week 8) in the Hamilton Anxiety Scale total score. RESULTS: Pexacerfont 100 mg/day did not separate from placebo on the primary outcome measure. The half-powered active comparator arm, escitalopram 20 mg/day, demonstrated efficacy with significant separation from placebo at weeks 1, 2, 3, 6, and 8 (P<.02). Response rates for pexacerfont, placebo, and escitalopram were 42, 42, and 53%, respectively. Genetic and psychometric rating scale data was obtained in 175 randomized subjects. There was a significant association between a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) of the gene encoding plexin A2 (PLXNA2-2016) with the HAM-A psychic subscale score for the entire cohort at baseline (FDR-adjusted P=.015). CONCLUSIONS: Pexacerfont did not demonstrate efficacy compared to placebo for the treatment of GAD. Whether these findings are generalizable to this class of agents remains to be determined. Our preliminary genetic finding of an association between a SNP for the gene encoding plexin A2 and an anxiety phenotype in this study merits further exploration. The trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT00481325) before enrollment.

A prospective, multicenter, randomized, parallel-group, open-label study of aripiprazole in the management of patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder in general psychiatric practice: Broad Effectiveness Trial With Aripiprazole (BETA).

OBJECTIVE: BETA was designed to evaluate the overall effectiveness of aripiprazole in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder treated in a general psychiatry outpatient practice setting. METHODS: In this 8-week, multicenter, open-label study, 1,599 outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were randomly assigned to receive either aripiprazole (n=1,295) or another antipsychotic medication (safety control [SC] group; n=304). Aripiprazole was initiated at 15 mg/d with the option to adjust between 10-30 mg/d. The SC medication was specifically selected for each patient by the clinician and dosed according to prescribing guidelines for that medication. The primary effectiveness measure was the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement (CGI-I) score of the aripiprazole group at study end point. Secondary measures included response rates and preference of medicine (POM) ratings by patients and caregivers. RESULTS: Sixty-five percent of aripiprazole patients completed the study. The mean aripiprazole dose at end point was 19.9 mg/d, with approximately 39% of patients starting and remaining at 15 mg/d. At end point, the mean CGI-I score of 2.77 demonstrated that aripiprazole was minimally to moderately effective; the mean CGI-I score for the SC group was 3.59 indicating minimally effective to no change. Fifty-three percent of aripiprazole patients responded to treatment (CGI-I score of 1 or 2; last-observation-carried-forward [LOCF]), and approximately 71% of patients and caregivers rated aripiprazole as better than the prestudy medication on the POM (LOCF). Incidence and severity of adverse events (AEs) were similar to those reported in double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled aripiprazole clinical trials. The most frequent AE in the aripiprazole group was insomnia (24%). CONCLUSIONS: Aripiprazole was effective for the treatment of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder in a general psychiatry outpatient practice setting. Overall, aripiprazole was found to be effective by the treating clinician and well accepted by patients and caregivers over the 8-week treatment course.

Aripiprazole for the prevention of relapse in stabilized patients with chronic schizophrenia: a placebo-controlled 26-week study.

BACKGROUND: Aripiprazole is a novel antipsychotic for the management of schizophrenia. This study investigated the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of aripiprazole in preventing relapse in adult chronic schizophrenia patients experiencing ongoing stable symptomatology. METHOD: In this 26-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, multi-center study, 310 patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia (mean Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale [PANSS] total score = 82) were randomly assigned to receive a once-daily fixed dose of aripiprazole, 15 mg, or placebo. The primary outcome measure was time to relapse following randomization. Secondary objectives were to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of aripiprazole, 15 mg, compared with placebo, in the study population. The study was conducted between Dec. 21, 2000, and Aug. 20, 2001. RESULTS: The time to relapse following randomization was significantly (p < .001) longer for aripiprazole compared with placebo. More patients relapsed with placebo (N = 85; 57%) than aripiprazole (N = 50; 34%); the relative risk of relapse for the aripiprazole group was 0.59 (p < .001). Aripiprazole was significantly superior to placebo from baseline to endpoint in PANSS total, PANSS positive, PANSS-derived Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity of Illness scale (CGI-S) scores and demonstrated significantly better mean Clinical Global Impressions-Global Improvement scale scores (p < or = .01 for all comparisons except CGI-S: .01 < p < or = .05). Aripiprazole was well tolerated, with no evidence of marked sedation and no evidence of hyperprolactinemia or prolonged heart rate-corrected QT interval (QTc). Extrapyramidal symptoms were comparable in the aripiprazole and placebo groups. Modest mean weight loss at endpoint was evident in both groups. CONCLUSION: Aripiprazole, 15 mg once daily, is an effective, well-tolerated treatment for prevention of relapse in patients with chronic, stable schizophrenia.

Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale (Sheehan-STS): Preliminary Results from a Multicenter Clinical Trial in Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Accurate and prospective assessments of treatment-emergent suicidal thoughts and behaviors are essential to both clinical care and randomized clinical trials. The Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale is a prospective, patient self-report or clinician-administered rating scale that tracks both treatment-emergent suicidal ideation and behaviors. The Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale was incorporated into a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, and active comparator study examining the efficacy of an experimental corticotropin-releasing factor antagonist (BMS-562086) for the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. METHOD: The Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale was administered to subjects at baseline, Week 2, Week 4, and Week 8 or early termination. Subjects completed theSheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale by self report. The Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale was designated as an exploratory outcome measure in the study protocol, and post-hoc analyses were performed to examine the performance of the Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale. RESULTS: A total of 82 subjects completed the Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale during the course of the study. Altogether, these subjects provided 297 completed Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale ratings across the study time points. Sixty-one subjects (n=25 placebo, n=24 BMS-562086, and n=12 escitalopram) had a baseline and at least one post-baseline Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale measurement. The mean change from baseline at Week 8 in the Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale total score was -0.10, -0.02, and -0.06 for escitalopram, placebo, and BMS-562086 groups, respectively. The sensitivity of the Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale and HAM-D Item #3 (suicide) for identifying subjects with suicidal thoughts or behaviors was 100 percent and 63 percent, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale may be a sensitive psychometric tool to prospectively assess for treatment-emergent suicidal thoughts and behaviors. Despite the small sample size and low occurrence of suicidal ideation during the course of this clinical trial, the self-reported Sheehan Suicidality Tracking Scale demonstrated increased sensitivity over the rater administered HAM-D Item #3 in identifying suicide related ideations and behaviors. Further research in larger study samples as well as in other psychiatric disorders are needed.