Just when I was ready to concede that Trexima might provide a migraine treatment better than existing meds, I read the fine print.
The articles say that 57-65% of participants who took Trexima, which combines Imitrex with naproxen (a NSAID, a relative to Advil), reported pain relief after two hours. In comparison, 50-55% of participants who took Imitrex and 28-29% who took a placebo reported relief after two hours. After four hours the percentages rose to 72-78% for Trexima, 61-66% for Imitrex and 37% for the placebo.
The treatment that most accurately compares to Trexima is Imitrex taken simultaneously with naproxen. Why wasn’t this combination studied? My guess is that including this comparison wouldn’t show enough of a difference between the two treatments to justify the FDA approving Trexima as a new drug. Thus, not allowing GSK to continue holding the Imitrex patent.