Telcagepant – gone for good?
The developers of one of the up-and-coming migraine drugs, Telcagepant, announced late last month that it was going to delay taking the drug to the FDA. It looks like the drug could be shelved – but will it be?
Financially, telcagepant was to be one of Merck’s new key drugs. But we’re talking about big money here – the potential to make a lot, or lose a lot, so no one seems to be sure what will happen next.
What happened? The trial involved taking telcagepant on a daily basis as a migraine preventative. Some of the patients experienced a problem – they started developing high levels of liver enzymes (transaminases). So the trial was scrapped.
But telcagepant isn’t just being investigated for preventative use, but also as an abortive. So now it looks like Merck will go ahead with trials in hopes that telcagepant can be used to stop a migraine attack once it starts. Obviously, doses were different and less frequent (only during attacks) when used as an abortive.
Still, do expect a delay. At this point Merck says nothing will be submitted to the FDA this year.
Whether or not the drug successfully continues to the market, it does represent a trajectory of research that is going on to find more scientifically current ways to treat migraine. This is not the only new drug on the horizon.
The original Merck report on telcagepant. To learn more about telcagepant, read What Everyone should know about Telcagepant – the coming Migraine Drug
11 May 2009 @ 8:11 pm
Actually, I’m glad to hear that the FDA isn’t allowing drugs to be rushed to market before there have been longer-term studies conducted. There are too many instances where drugs thought to be beneficial were later realized to be harmful. Nice article. It’s great to be kept up to date on meds — especially since my neuro doc likes to push them so much. 😉 Personally, I’m stickin’ with Petadolex/Butterbur, CoQ10, and magnesium for now.
21 May 2009 @ 1:52 pm
Yes, you’re right. Caution is important. The problem is that politics and money are also so often the factors – not caution on behalf of the patient. I hope caution and wisdom win out here – for the patient’s sake!
New Migraine Drug Telcagepant – Not Dead Yet
13 October 2009 @ 9:30 am
[…] Headache Congress in September, talking again about the migraine drug Telcagepant. And hopes that Telcagepant will see the light of day aren’t dead […]
9 June 2010 @ 3:52 pm
Gyan, you are very lucky if you can afford to be patient. If Petadolex and Q10 help you, that’s great! I have had no help from any of these or from any preventatives. I have tried dozens, some with very rough side effects (like Diamox or Topamax) with no relief whatsoever. My life is totally crippled by migraines. The triptans help me but leave me totally hung over and lethargic for hours, and I have to take way too many of them. So for some of us caution is good but effective medications are crucial.