Emgality vs Aimovig: Difference and Comparison

As time passed, the pharmaceutical sector increased its production, and new research on medicines and drugs for diseases minor to major has developed.

Key Takeaways

1. Emgality and Aimovig are both medications used to treat migraines.
2. Emgality is administered once a month, while Aimovig is administered once a week or once a month.
3. Emgality targets the CGRP receptor, while Aimovig targets the CGRP ligand.

Emgality vs Aimovig

The difference between Emgality and Aimovig is that the key ingredient or drug used to prepare the medicine Emgality is gulcanezumab which is a monoclonal antibody, whereas comparatively, on the other hand, the key ingredient or the drug used to prepare the medicine Aimovig is erenumab which is also a monoclonal antibody. Monoclonal antibodies are the immune system antibodies prepared in the lab by cloning certain white blood cells.

The medicine is used as a preventive measure for the treatment of migration pain as well as the episodic cluster of headaches in adults. The main ingredient of the drug used to make it is galcanezumab.

Aimovig is a medicine which FDA approves on 17 May 2018. The medicine is available in the market by its brand name, and no generic medicine is available.

Comparison Table

Parameters of Comparison	Emgality	Aimovig
Approval for Migration Prevention	27 September 2018	17 May 2018
Drug Ingredient	Galcanezumab-gnlm	Erenumab-aooe
Process of intake	It is given in subcutaneous layer self-injection, prefilled pen, or syringe.	Given on the subcutaneous layer self-injection by prefilled autoinjector.
Working	The drug binds to the CGRP which prevents its effect	The drug blocks the CGRP receptor.
Half Life	27 days	28 days
Used For	Treatment of migraine and the episodic cluster of headache in adults	Treatment of migraine in adults
Dosage	In starting 240mg then 120mg for migraine while 300mg (3×100mg) injection monthly for the episodic cluster of headache.	70mg monthly, while sometimes the dose can be doubled depending on the patient.

What is Emgality?

Emgality is a medicine developed by Eli Lily and Company. The medicine got his approval for treating migration pain on 27 September 2018 while for treating an episodic cluster of headaches on 04 June 2019.

The medicine is injected into the subcutaneous layer of the skin with the help of prefilled pen or syringe. The dosage composition given to the patient for treating migraine is about 240 mg, but later it can be reduced to 120 mg.

Some of the side effects reported by the patients after using the medicine are – constipation, itchy skin, dizziness, welts, injection site reactions around 18%, and anti-drug antibodies (up to 12.5%).

What is Aimovig?

Aimovig is a medicine developed by Amgen. Medicine Aimovig got his approval from FDA for treating patients (adults) with migraines on 17 May 2018.

The dosage composition given to the patient for treating migraine pain is about 70 mg, while it can be doubled depending upon the need of the patient.

Some of the side effects reported by the patients after using the medicine are – constipation, itchy skin, tiredness, cramps, muscle spasms, and injection site reactions of about 6%.

Main Differences Between Emgality and Aimovig

1. The medicine Emgality is used for the treatment of migraine and the episodic cluster of headaches in adults, while Aimovig is only used for the treatment of migration pain in adults. 
2. The dosage of the emgality is given in the initial days is 240 mg which is then lowered to 120 mg later for treating migration pain. Still, the dosage given for the treatment of episodic cluster headaches is 300mg (3 × 100mg) injection. On the other hand, the dosage of the aimovig given to the patient initially is 70 mg once in a month, but sometimes the dose of the medicine can be doubled depending upon the patient. 

References

1. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03007995.2020.1783219
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7847775/