Lilly launches real-world study to benchmark Emgality against migraine rivals

Eli Lilly’s CGRP migraine prevention med Emgality trailed its rivals onto the market, but it’s been a force in the dogfight for market share. Now, in an effort to learn more about how physicians choose between the med and its competitors, the company has started a real-world evidence study. 

The study, dubbed Triumph, aims to look at how the med performs compared with other migraine prevention drugs. Patients and doctors will make all of the treatment decisions, and the drugmaker hopes to learn about how people on routine care end up taking Emgality, either through new-to-brand prescriptions or switches. 

As it stands, that’s a “gap” in migraine research, Lilly said. The findings will be “enormously valuable to the migraine community in assessing the role of Emgality in long-term care and in comparison to other preventives,” Lilly Bio-Medicines VP of neurology development Gudarz Davar said in a statement. 

The study will enroll about 2,850 patients in the U.S., Europe and Asia and examine treatment choices over two years. It’ll look at switching patterns and discontinuations for Emgality and its CGRP rivals, plus oral options and more.

Patients will report details about migraine burden, quality of life and their satisfaction with treatment. The study will further look at patients' reduction in migraine headache days per month, plus at how acute treatments benefit patients when they do suffer from migraines.  

"By tracking physician and patient treatment decisions in the real-world, the results from Triumph will contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the real-world benefit of Emgality and its comparative effectiveness as a long-term treatment option,” Lilly Bio-Medicines president Patrik Jonsson said in a statement. 

RELATED: Lilly's Emgality powers ahead with 'best-in-class' CGRP access 

Lilly’s Emgality won the third FDA nod for a migraine prevention medicine last year, but it hasn’t let its status as the third entrant dampen its ambitions. The drug has been scooping up market share, reaching 31% as of November, according to Spherix Global Insights. During the summer, Lilly execs reported their drug had “best-in-class" access. Patients are also requesting the med at a high rate, Spherix reports. 

Lilly reported $48 million in third-quarter Emgality revenues, compared with $66 million for Amgen's Aimovig and $25 million for Teva's Ajovy.