Emergence of CGRP-Targeted Therapies Transforms Migraine Care | NCPA 2025

With their ability to inhibit the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) pathway, emerging CGRP-targeted therapies are making an unprecedented impact in migraine treatment and prevention.

“CGRP is a neuropeptide that plays a significant role in migraine. We have [data from] basic science studies that show that levels of this peptide are elevated during migraine attacks,” Amaal J. Starling, MD, FAAN, FAHS, associate professor of neurology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, told Drug Topics. “Triptan medications reduce the level of this. Individuals with more severe forms of migraine have chronically elevated levels of CGRP, and animal models have shown, [that] if we can block that CGRP pathway at different levels, [it] can reduce the animal model of migraine pain.”

Erenumab received FDA approval on May 17, 2018, as the first medication designed strictly for migraine prevention.^1,2 Such novel CGRP-targeted medications are showing potential as the safest and most effective option for treating and preventing migraines, a condition that millions of patients experience.

To discuss these promising therapies, Starling joined Drug Topics during the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) 2025 Annual Convention and Expo, alongside her colleague, Courtney Hahs, PharmD, a clinical pharmacist at SEMO Rx Pharmacies and SEMO Rx Care Coordination.

Learn from a certified neurologist’s perspective why CGRP-targeted therapies could be the future of managing migraine and how their unprecedented effects could improve care for millions of patients.

Read more of our coverage from NCPA 2025.

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REFERENCES

1. Tepper SJ. History and review of anti-calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) therapies: from translational research to treatment. Headache. 2018;58(suppl 3):238-275. doi:10.1111/head.13379

2. Barnes S, Aldous L, Jenkins B. Calcitonin gene-related peptide-targeted therapies for migraine. Aust Prescr. 2025;48(2):40-46. doi:10.18773/austprescr.2025.017