Fremanezumab (Ajovy) is a drug to prevent migraines in adults. Here are some key facts to know about this medication.
How Do I Take Fremanezumab (Ajovy)?
You take it as an injection, or shot, that goes under your skin. You’ll get the drug either in a prefilled syringe or in a prefilled plastic device called an autoinjector.
Your health care provider might do the injections. You also can give yourself the shot, or have a friend or family member learn to do it. The shots go in your upper arm, thigh, or stomach.
You should pick a different spot for each shot. You’ll also use a new syringe or autoinjector each time.
How Often Do I Take Fremanezumab (Ajovy)?
You can take this drug once a month, or you can take a larger dose once every 3 months (quarterly). If you take the drug quarterly, you’ll need three shots, one right after the other. Your doctor can help you decide which schedule works best for you.
What Are the Side Effects of Fremanezumab (Ajovy)?
This medication doesn’t cause many side effects that are serious or that cause people to stop the drug. The most common side effect of the drug is a reaction at the spot where you’ve given yourself a shot. These are called injection-site reactions and can cause redness, pain, and swelling.
Less common side effects include constipation and high blood pressure.
Fremanezumab can also cause allergic reactions such as a rash, itchy skin, hives, trouble breathing, and swelling of the face and throat. If you experience any of these symptoms, call 911 or your doctor immediately.
Is It Safe to Use Fremanezumab (Ajovy) for a Long Time?
A yearlong study of fremanezumab showed it was safe and helped reduce migraines, whether taken monthly or every 3 months.
A few people who took fremanezumab in studies developed antibodies to the drug, an effect called immunogenicity. If this happens to you, the drug might not work as well as it once did. But researchers don’t yet know enough to say whether antibodies can make the drug less safe or helpful.
How to Store and Dispose of Fremanezumab (Ajovy)
Refrigerate fremanezumab in its original carton to protect it from heat and light.
When you’re ready to use it, take the carton out of the refrigerator and let the drug sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Don’t try to warm it in the microwave or using hot water. This could stop the drug from working like it should.
Don’t shake it. The liquid in the syringe should be clear. If you see flakes or the color seems off, don’t use it.
Don’t put your used syringe or autoinjector into your regular household trash. You need an FDA-approved container for “sharps” disposal. Ask the drug company to send you a sharps container when you fill your prescription. You can also find the containers at pharmacies, medical device companies, and online.
Who Should Avoid Fremanezumab (Ajovy)?
This medication is approved for adults. There’s not enough research to say whether it’s safe and effective for children.
Studies of fremanezumab didn’t include many people older than 65. Researchers can’t say for sure whether older people react differently to the drug.
Researchers don’t have enough data to say whether fremanezumab is safe for pregnant women. They do know that it stays in your system a long time, so be sure to let your doctor know if you are planning to become pregnant.
Doctors don’t know if fremanezumab passes through breastmilk and whether it is safe for your baby.
How Well Does Fremanezumab (Ajovy) Work?
In studies, fremanezumab cut the number of headache days a month by about half in about 4 out of 10 people with episodic and chronic migraines. If you have fewer than 15 headache days a month, your migraines are episodic. If you have 15 or more headache days a month, your migraines are chronic.
The people in the studies took fremanezumab monthly, and some took it every 3 months.
People with episodic migraines had an average of 9 headache days per month before they started the drug. After 3 months, about 45% of them said their headache days had dropped by at least half.
Those with chronic migraine had an average of 20 headache days per month before they started the drug. After 3 months of taking the drug, about 40% of patients said they had half as many migraine days.
How Does Fremanezumab (Ajovy) Work?
Fremanezumab is a type of drug called a monoclonal antibody.
People with migraines have a higher level of a protein called CGRP in their bodies. CGRP stands for calcitonin gene-related peptide. CGRP can set off a chain reaction that causes intense inflammation in your brain, which in turn can cause a migraine. Fremanezumab attaches to CGRP and blocks the chain reaction.
