What is Ubrelvy used for and how fast does Ubrelvy work?
What is Ubrelvy used for?
Ubrelvy (ubrogepant) is used in adults to treat acute migraines, that are with or without aura.
Ubrelvy is NOT used to prevent migraines.
How fast does Ubrelvy work?
Ubrelvy starts to work after approximately one and a half to two hours, with its maximum effect being between 3 to 8 hours.
In Ubrelvy clinical trials after 2 hours 21.2% of patients taking Ubrelvy 100mg were pain free compared to 11.8% of patients taking placebo. Over the next 3 to 8 hours the percentage of patients that were pain free increased, so that after 8 hours the over 70% Ubrelvy 100mg patients were pain free and over 50% of the placebo patients were also pain free.
The Ubrelvy clinical trial also measured pain relief after 2 hours. In the patients who took Ubrelvy 100mg 61.4% patients had pain relief compared to 49.1% of patients that took the placebo.
In the Ubrelvy clinical trials after 2 hours 37.7% of patients taking Ubrelvy 100mg had an absence of bothersome migraine symptoms (photophobia, phonophobia, or nausea) compared to 27.8% of patients who were taking the placebo.
How does Ubrelvy work?
Ubrelvy is a CGRP receptor antagonist (gepants) which is from a group of medicines called CGRP inhibitors. How Ubrelvy works is complicated but put simply, CGRP is a protein in the nerve endings that is involved in pain and migraines. Ubrelvy blocks the CGRP protein from attaching to the nerve endings and so stops the pain and migraine symptoms.
References
Medicine information Ubrelvy: www.drugclasses.com/ubrelvy.html
Ubrogepant for the Treatment of Migraine: www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1813049
Read next
How do Ubrelvy, Qulipta and Nurtec compare for migraines?
Ubrelvy, Qulipta and Nurtec ODT are all medicines used by adults for migraines. They are all from the same group of medicines often called gepants but their full name is calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) receptor antagonist. Continue reading
Ubrelvy vs Imitrex (sumatriptan): How do they compare?
Ubrelvy and Imitrex are both oral tablets used to treat migraine, but there are differences in the way they work. Ubrelvy prevents a protein called CGRP thought to play a role in migraine attacks from binding to its receptor and Imitrex is thought to bind to serotonin 5-HT1B/1D receptors, and inhibit pro-inflammatory substances Although no head-to-head comparison trials compare Ubrelvy to Imitrex, indirect evidence suggests that overall, Ubrelvy is no more effective, and may be inferior to Imitrex at relieving migraine in adults who are able to tolerate triptans. For those adults with moderate-to-severe migraine attacks that cannot tolerate triptans or who have found them ineffective, Ubrelvy is beneficial for treating migraines compared to no treatment. Ubrelvy is associated with fewer side effects than Imitrex, but is more expensive, costing almost twice as much. Continue reading
Is Ubrelvy better than triptans?
Some patients may not be able to use NSAIDs or triptans to treat acute migraine headaches due to side effects or health conditions. In these circumstances, newer agents like Ubrelvy (ubrogepant), a calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) antagonist, may be an appropriate option. Continue reading
Related medical questions
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Drug information
Related support groups
- Ubrelvy (16 questions, 12 members)
- Ubrogepant (8 questions, 3 members)