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OnabotulinumtoxinA for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine: Results from the phase 3, multicenter randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase of the PRECLUDE trial

Pozo-Rosich P, Blumenfeld AM, Lipton RB, DeGryse RE, Li B, Adams AM, Nguyen T, James L et al.

Cephalalgia : an international journal of headache, 2025

775 participants · 4 citations

Abstract

Background Migraine is a complex disabling neurological disease characterized by recurrent headache attacks lasting 4–72 h with moderate to severe intensity and other accompanying symptoms. While chronic migraine (CM) and episodic migraine (EM) are primarily differentiated by the frequency of headache and migraine days, underlying clinical and functional differences have been described. OnabotulinumtoxinA (onabotA) has been approved as a preventive treatment for CM with controlled clinical and real-world evidence suggesting potential benefits for treatment of EM. Given the lack of randomized controlled trial data, PRECLUDE, a prospective phase 3 trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of onabotA for the preventive treatment of EM. Methods The PRECLUDE trial was a phase 3 multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group trial with an open-label onabotA 195 U extension phase. In total, 775 patients aged 18–65 years with a history of migraine attacks were randomized (1:1:1) to receive placebo, onabotA 155 U, or onabotA 195 U. Patients recorded daily headache data and medication use via an electronic diary (eDiary) during a four-week screening phase, 24-week double-blind phase, followed by a 24-week open-label extension phase. The primary endpoint was the change in the frequency of monthly migraine days from baseline across months 5 and 6. Results All treatment groups showed a reduction in the frequency of monthly migraine days from…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a randomized trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 2 of 5 (High · randomized trial). Randomized trials of a reasonable size are the strongest single-study design. Reported size: 775 participants or records.

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