RW study in Chinese migraine patients: Rimegepant effective with high satisfaction rates

Rimegepant as an acute treatment for migraine is effective with high patient satisfaction rates, a real-world (RW) registry study in Chinese patients has shown.

The ARISE study is a single-arm, prospective, multicentre, observational registry study conducted in 70 sites across China, with a target recruitment of 3,000 patients with migraine with or without aura. The objective is to evaluate the RW effectiveness and tolerability of rimegepant for acute treatment of migraine. [Ran Y, et al, AHS 2025]

The interim analysis involved 210 patients (mean age, 39.3 years; female, 78.6 percent) who had a mean of 7 monthly migraine days in the 3 months prior to enrolment. Most patients (73.3 percent) had migraine without aura, 11.9 percent had migraine with aura, 17.1 percent had chronic migraine, while 10.0 percent had migraine with medication overuse headache. About two-thirds (63.3 percent) of the patients had comorbid depression, while 36.2 percent had comorbid anxiety.

Prior experience with analgesics and triptans
Prior to enrolment, 80.5 percent of the patients had taken analgesics to treat a recent migraine attack, and 23.1 percent of these patients had used triptans. The most severe visual analogue scale (VAS) pain score after taking any analgesic or triptan was 6. In any analgesic- or triptan-treated recent migraine attack, the median time (interquartile range [IQR]) to meaningful relief of pain was 120 (60–180) minutes, while median time (IQR) to meaningful relief of associated symptoms was 60 (15–120) minutes.

Satisfaction rates for pain relief were 69.8 percent with any analgesic-treated recent migraine attack (extremely or very satisfied, 26.6 percent; somewhat satisfied, 43.2 percent) and 66.7 percent for any triptan-treated recent migraine attack (extremely or very satisfied, 15.4 percent; somewhat satisfied, 51.3 percent). Satisfaction rates for return to normal function post-dose were 68.7 percent with analgesics (extremely or very satisfied, 27.3 percent; somewhat satisfied, 41.4 percent) and 69.2 percent with triptans (extremely or very satisfied, 12.8 percent; somewhat satisfied, 56.4 percent).

Rimegepant’s RW effectiveness
After enrolment into the study, all patients were asked to take rimegepant to treat a single migraine attack and record relevant data on a digital platform.

In the rimegepant-treated migraine attack, the most severe pain (median VAS score) after rimegepant dosing was 3, indicating mild pain. The median time (IQR) to meaningful relief of pain was 60 (30–120) minutes, while median time (IQR) to meaningful relief of associated symptoms was 30 (0–90) minutes.

High patient satisfaction rates with rimegepant
Most patients reported satisfaction with rimegepant treatment. The overall satisfaction rate was 83.8 percent for pain relief (extremely or very satisfied, 53.8 percent; somewhat satisfied, 30.0 percent) and 84.8 percent for return to normal function post-dose (extremely or very satisfied 57.7 percent; somewhat satisfied, 27.1 percent).

All patients included in this analysis took only one rimegepant tablet within 48 hours. Additionally, 17.6 percent took other analgesics during the rimegepant-treated migraine attack.

Favourable safety profile
Adverse events (AEs) occurred in 2.4 percent of patients during the rimegepant treatment period, none of which were serious AEs. The most frequently reported AE was nausea, which occurred in 0.1 percent of patients.

Value in migraine treatment
“This interim analysis demonstrates the RW effectiveness and tolerability of rimegepant in acute treatment of migraine among Chinese patients, highlighting its potential as a valuable and promising therapeutic option in China,” the investigators concluded.