Fremanezumab Reduces Number of Migraine Days in Children, Teens

TUESDAY, Jan. 20, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Fremanezumab yields a greater reduction in the number of migraine days and headache days than placebo among children and adolescents with episodic migraine, according to a study published in the Jan. 15 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

Andrew D. Hershey, M.D., Ph.D., from the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, and colleagues randomly assigned participants aged 6 to 17 years with a diagnosis of episodic migraine to receive monthly subcutaneous injections of fremanezumab or matched placebo for three months. Participants were also allowed to use migraine-specific medications for treating acute headaches.

The full analysis population included 234 participants: 123 in the fremanezumab group and 111 in the placebo group. The researchers observed a reduction in the number of migraine days per month by 2.5 with fremanezumab versus 1.4 with placebo, and in the number of days per month with headache of at least moderate severity (2.6 versus 1.5 days). The percentage of participants with a reduction of 50 percent or more in the number of migraine days per month was 47.2 and 27.0 percent with fremanezumab and placebo, respectively. The most common adverse event with fremanezumab was injection-site erythema (9.8 percent versus 5.4 percent with placebo).

“These data add to the limited evidence on the efficacy and safety of migraine-preventive treatments in children and adolescents,” the authors write.

The study was funded by Teva Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of fremanezumab.

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