What type of drug is Ajovy?

Ajovy is an injectable migraine preventive for adults that targets the calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and prevents CGRP from binding to its receptor site.

When CGRP binds to the receptor, a cascade of events such as vasodilation and protein leakage begin that leads to the inflammation and pain associated with migraine. Ajovy (fremanezumab-vfrm) from Teva Pharmaceuticals, is a monoclonal antibody and selectively targets the CGRP ligand (a molecule that produces a signal by binding to a site on a target protein).

Two other CGRP antagonists have also been approved:

• Emgality (galcanezumab-gnlm) from Eli Lilly has a similar mechanism as Ajovy; it binds to the CGRP ligand and blocks its binding to the receptor to help prevent migraine pain.
• Aimovig (erenumab-aooe) from Amgen was the first approved CGRP antagonist and works in a slightly different way than Ajovy or Emgality. Aimovig actually binds potently and selectively to the CGRP receptor (not the ligand) to block CGRP activation, thereby preventing the migraine pain.