Erenumab safety and efficacy in migraine: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials

BACKGROUND: Erenumab is a new medicine recently approved in the United States of America for the preventive treatment of migraine among adults. We aimed to conduct a meta-analysis and evaluation of the efficacy and safety of erenumab among patients with migraine. METHODS: The electronic databases that were searched comprised PubMed, Embase and the Cochrane library, which were independently retrieved by 2 reviewers. Only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that compared placebo with erenumab were selected. Mean differences (MDs), pooled risk ratios (RRs), and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated for continuous and dichotomous data, respectively. RESULTS: Five RCTs representing 2928 patients were included. Pooled analysis showed significant reductions in the 50% responder rate (RR 1.55; P < .00001; I(2) = 49%). In addition, the mean monthly migraine days from baseline in the erenumab group compared with placebo (MD-1.32; P < .00001; I(2) = 100%) and migraine-specific medication days) from baseline (MD-1.41; P < .00001; I(2) = 100%) were significantly decreased for the erenumab group as compared with placebo. Furthermore, Migraine-specific medication days from baseline in the 140 mg erenumab group were significantly reduced as compared the 70 mg group (MD = 0.55; P < .00001; I(2) = 90%). Finally, there was no significant difference between the erenumab group and placebo for any adverse event and serious adverse event. CONCLUSION: Among patients with migraine, both 70 and 140 mg of erenumab were associated with reduced Migraine-specific medication days, Migraine-specific medication days from baseline, and an increased rate of a 50% reduction, in the absence of an increased risk of any serious adverse effect.