A New Drug for Chronic Migraines

US regulators have approved a new drug intended to prevent or reduce the frequency of migraines

By Katrina Caruso

On May 17, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the first medication for the prevention of chronic migraines. Aimovig, a monthly injection, was created by Amgen and Novartis. Three other companies—Lilly, Teva, and Alder—have migraine medications in the final stages of FDA approval.

According to Statistics Canada, about 14% of the world’s population experiences migraines and 2.8 million Canadians were diagnosed with migraines in 2010-2011.

Migraines can be seriously debilitating, with the intense pain lasting for hours—accompanied by light sensitivity, nausea, and vomiting—and causing victims to miss days of work or school. Three times as many women are affected as men.

Aimovig will be administered via a device[The framework convention on tobacco control: is there hope for Africa?].
African countries have a lot to gain from the first international public health treaty. The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) was adopted in May 2003 by 168 member countries at the World Health Assembly. The African delegation demonstrated and put forth a strong, united front throughout the series of sessions which comprised the negotiation process. There are a number of considerable obstacles and challenges particular to this region of the world which makes it difficult to put tobacco control on the African agenda. Only a solid civil society mobilisation movement could serve as a worthy adversary to take on such a challenge. NGOs, such as the Framework Convention Alliance, provide assistance and should continue to support the