Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34930112›Full record

Observational studyThe journal of headache and pain2021

Real-world impact of fremanezumab on migraine symptoms and resource utilization in the United States.

Peter McAllister, Lois Lamerato, Lynda J Krasenbaum, Joshua M Cohen, Krishna Tangirala, Stephen Thompson, Maurice Driessen, Julian Casciano, Zenobia Dotiwala, Alexander Mauskop

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational Study
In one paragraph

Observational study in The journal of headache and pain, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
19citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
4.6field-weighted citation impact, top 4% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 35 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Guideline
  4. The second interim analysis of Italian participants enrolled in the real-world, Pan-European, prospective, observational, Phase 4 PEARL study of fremanezumab effectiveness.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2025
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  19. Novel Migraine Therapies May Reduce Public and Personal Disadvantages for People with Migraine.BioDrugs : clinical immunotherapeutics, biopharmaceuticals and gene therapy · 2022
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.

Peter McAllisterNew England Institute for Neurology and Headache, New England Institute for Clinical Research and Ki Clinical Research, Yale University, 30 Buxton Farm Road, Suite 230, Stamford, CT, 06905, USA. peter@neinh.com.
Lois LameratoDepartment of Public Health Sciences, Henry Ford Health System, Detroit, MI, USA.
Lynda J KrasenbaumTeva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA.
Joshua M CohenTeva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA.
Krishna TangiralaTeva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA.
Stephen ThompsonTeva Branded Pharmaceutical Products R&D, Inc., West Chester, PA, USA.
Maurice DriessenTeva Branded Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Julian CascianoeMAX Health Systems, Delray Beach, FL, USA.
Zenobia DotiwalaeMAX Health Systems, Delray Beach, FL, USA.
Alexander MauskopDepartment of Neurology, SUNY Downstate Medical Center, New York Headache Center, New York, NY, USA.
Teva Pharmaceuticals (United States) · USHenry Ford Health System · USNew England Institute for Neurology and Headache · USSUNY Downstate Health Sciences University · USTeva Pharmaceuticals (Netherlands) · NL

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundFremanezumab, a fully humanized monoclonal antibody (IgG2Δa) that selectively targets calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), is approved for migraine prevention in adults. Real-world data on the effectiveness of fremanezumab are limited. This retrospective, observational cohort study assessed patient-reported migraine symptoms, health care resource utilization (HCRU), and direct medical costs before and after fremanezumab treatment initiation.

methodsData were extracted from September 2018 through June 2020 from the Midwest component of EMRClaims+®, an integrated health services database containing > 20 million medical records from national commercial insurance claims, Medicare claims, and regional electronic medical records. Patients included in the cohort analysis were aged ≥ 18 years and were administered fremanezumab, with enrollment or treatment history for ≥ 6 months prior (pre-index) to initiating fremanezumab (index date) and ≥ 1 month after the index date (post-index), and without pregnancy or pregnancy-related encounters during the study period. Patient-reported headache frequency, migraine pain intensity (MPI), composite migraine symptoms, and HCRU were assessed pre-index and ≥ 1 month after fremanezumab initiation. Wilcoxon signed-rank tests were used to compare means of migraine symptoms and outcomes and HCRU before and after fremanezumab initiation.

resultsOverall, 172 patients were eligible for analysis. Of patients who self-reported (n = 129), 83.7% reported improvement in headache frequency or symptoms after fremanezumab treatment. Specifically, headache frequency decreased by 63% after fremanezumab initiation: mean (standard deviation) headache frequency was 22.24 (9.29) days per month pre-index versus 8.24 (7.42) days per month post-index (P < 0.0001). Mean MPI also decreased by 18% after fremanezumab initiation: MPI was 5.47 (3.19) pre-index versus 4.51 (3.34) post-index (P = 0.014). Mean emergency room (ER) visits per month decreased from 0.72 to 0.54 (P = 0.003), and mean outpatient visits per month decreased from 1.04 to 0.81 (P < 0.001). Mean hospitalizations per month decreased, but the results did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.095). Hospitalization and ER costs decreased, while outpatient costs increased, from pre-index to post-index, but differences were not statistically significant (P ≥ 0.232).

conclusionsSignificant reductions in headache frequency, MPI, and HCRU were observed after fremanezumab initiation in patients with migraine in a US real-world setting.

Indexed as

MedicareMigraine DisordersAdultAgedAntibodies, MonoclonalHumansRetrospective StudiesUnited StatesAntibodies, MonoclonalfremanezumabFremanezumabHeadache frequencyHealth care resource utilizationMigraineMigraine pain intensityReal-world efficacy

Identifiers

PMID34930112
PMCPMC8903530
OpenAlexW4200060556

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.