Expensive preventive medicines for migraines will soon be reimbursed

An estimated 12 to 15 percent of the population suffers from migraines to a greater or lesser extent, and according to US figures, one in five patients even has one migraine day per week. It is a health problem that we should not minimize, says professor Koen Paemeleire (UZ Gent), specialized in headache disorders.

For people who suffer from migraines there is now some light at the end of the tunnel: three new medicines will be reimbursed from now on. This will be the case from June 1 for the brand Aimovig (from the Swiss company Novartis), for Ajovy (from the Israeli Teva) and for Emgality (from the American company Eli Lilly) from 1 July. All three are preventive drugs.

The conditions are strict: it must be adult patients who have at least 8 migraine days per month and for whom at least three other preventive treatments have not helped. If the new drugs are successful after a three-month trial period, patients can receive a year of treatment, but there is also a regular drug-free period. Only a neurologist can prescribe the drugs.

The three brands are innovative biologics that deploy antibodies against the protein CGRP, which triggers migraines in some people. It is a monthly or quarterly injection, which the patient can administer himself. The cost has been very high up to now, for Aimovig, for example, 491 euros per month. Thanks to the reimbursement by the health insurance, the patient now pays 12.10 euros.

Good for the patient’s quality of life, but also for society

Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke is pleased that the negotiations with the companies have been successful: “These repayments will change the lives of thousands of people whose daily lives are affected by this debilitating condition.” Vandenbroucke calls it “a major benefit for the quality of life of the person in question, but also for society, since migraine often leads to absenteeism from work.”

Professor Koen Paemeleire, head of the neurology clinic at UZ Gent, campaigned for reimbursement together with colleagues and patient associations and calls it “a really nice step forward, which I hadn’t actually counted on.” Precisely because there is so much money involved, the negotiations were long and difficult.

These drugs are better tolerated

Professor Paemeleire: “This expands the arsenal of medicines again. Migraine is a complex condition, influenced by many factors and often very difficult to treat. These preventive biologics are also much better tolerated than the beta-blockers, antiepileptic drugs or antidepressants that patients take.”

No agreement on refund would have been a disaster

It is not clear exactly how many patients will benefit from these new drugs. It is certainly about thousands, possibly tens of thousands of people, just to be clear, with very serious complaints. “Eight days of migraine per month, that is 96 days or more than three months of migraine per year,” explains Professor Paemeleire. “If there had been no agreement for the reimbursement, it would have been a disaster for many people.”

Listen to the conversation with Koen Paemeleire in “The world today” via Radio 1 Select

Bron.vrtnws.be and ‘The World Today’

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