Long-term effectiveness of eptinezumab in patients with migraine and prior preventive treatment failures: extension of a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Eptinezumab demonstrated efficacy in adults with migraine and prior preventive treatment failures in the placebo-controlled phase of the DELIVER clinical trial; its long-term effectiveness in this population has not yet been reported. The objective of this study was to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of eptinezumab in a migraine patient population during the 48-week extension phase of DELIVER. METHODS: DELIVER was conducted June 1, 2020 to September 15, 2022. 865 adults with migraine, with documented evidence of 2–4 prior preventive migraine treatment failures and with completion of the 24-week placebo-controlled period of DELIVER received eptinezumab (100 or 300 mg) during the dose-blinded extension, either continuing their randomized dose or, if originally receiving placebo, were randomized 1:1 to an eptinezumab dose (100 or 300 mg). A mixed model for repeated measures was used to evaluate changes from baseline in the number of monthly migraine days (MMDs). RESULTS: Of 865 patients entering the extension (eptinezumab 100 mg, n = 433; 300 mg, n = 432), 782 (90.4%) completed and 11 (1.3%) discontinued due to an adverse event. Eptinezumab was associated with early and sustained reductions in migraine frequency. Mean MMDs at baseline were approximately 14 days across groups. Mean (standard error) change from baseline in MMDs over the final dosing interval (weeks 61–72) was −6.4 (0.50) with placebo/eptinezumab 100 mg, –7.3 (0.49) with placebo/eptinezumab 300 mg, –7.1 (0.39) with eptinezumab 100 mg, and −7.0 (0.39) with eptinezumab 300 mg. During weeks 61–72, 63–70% of patients demonstrated ≥ 50% reduction in MMDs, and 36–45% demonstrated ≥ 75% reduction. Headache severity and acute medication use reductions, and patient-reported improvements in most bothersome symptom, disease status, quality of life, and work productivity, were observed. Adverse events were generally mild, transient, and similar in frequency/type to previous eptinezumab trials. CONCLUSIONS: The long-term effectiveness and safety/tolerability of eptinezumab in patients with migraine and 2–4 prior preventive treatment failures was demonstrated by high completion rates and migraine-preventive benefits sustained for up to 18 months, implying that eptinezumab is a viable long-term treatment option for patients still seeking successful migraine treatments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier: NCT04418765; URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04418765); EudraCT (Identifier: 2019-004497-25; URL: https://www.clinicaltrialsregister.eu/ctr-search/search?query=2019-004497-25). GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s10194-023-01688-w.