Ubrelvy vs Emgality: How do they compare for migraines?

Ubrelvy and Emgality are both migraine medications that are called Calcitonin Gene-Related Peptide (CGRP) inhibitors.

They differ in that Ubrelvy (ubrogepant) treats a migraine when you have one, where Emgality (galcanezumab) is used to prevent migraines.

Ubrelvy is a short acting tablet you take when you have a migraine, whereas Emgality is a long acting injection given monthly.

Ubrelvy is:

• used to treat acute migraine
• tablet you take orally (swallow with a drink)
• take 1 tablet, when you have a migraine and another dose may be taken in 2 hours if required, under certain circumstances
• short acting (last just over a day)
• small-molecule CGRP antagonist

Emgality is:

• used for prevention of migraines
• a subcutaneous injection
• given as a loading dose, then monthly
• long acting (last for a month)
• binds to the CGRP ligand, which stops the ligand binding to the CGRP receptor

Bottom line:

• Ubrelvy and Emgality are both migraine medications, but work quite differently.
• Ubrelvy is a short acting tablet that you take when you have a migraine.
• Emgality is a monthly injection you have to prevent migraines.