Key Summary
- Use of new migraine tablets has tripled since approval by NICE.
- They are migraine-specific pills, offering an alternative to older preventives and injections.
- With 1 in 7 affected, groups like The Migraine Trust say wider access matters.
The number of people prescribed an innovative migraine treatment has tripled in under a year, following approval of the medicines by NICE.
In 2025, 22,800 people were prescribed ateogepant or rimegepant by their GPs. The total receiving tablets is even higher across the NHS, as these numbers don’t include prescriptions from hospitals and clinics.
“These tablets are already transforming the lives of thousands of people with migraine in England, and the rapid uptake is very encouraging,” said Helen Knight, director of medicines evaluation at NICE. “We hope this continued momentum means even more people can benefit in the months ahead.”
Until recently, antidepressants, antiepileptics and beta-blockers were prescribed for the debilitating condition. These medicines are not intended for migraine-specific conditions and often come with side effects or contraindications such as low blood pressure (hypotension), slowed heart rate (bradycardia), dizziness and falls.
The rise in use of the new migraine treatments is partly due to being available for the first time in tablet form. CGRP-targeting therapies have been available for several years as infusions or injections.
Atogepant and rimegepant block CGRP (calcitonin gene-related peptide), a key chemical which triggers migraine pain. They work by blocking the effects of CGRP.
NICE recommended rimegepant in 2023 for treating migraine and preventing episodic attacks (between 4 and 14 migraines per month), and atogepant in 2024 for preventing both episodic and chronic migraine (15 or more headache days per month). Adults can use the pills to prevent migraine if at least three other preventive treatments have failed.
Around one in seven people in the UK live with migraine. “It is nearly as common as asthma, epilepsy, and diabetes combined,” says Rob Music, chief executive at The Migraine Trust.
Around 89 percent of people said the condition had affected their mental health, according to a Trust survey, and a third reported having suicidal thoughts due to their migraine.
“There are some people who are unable to tolerate or have issues with injections for whom an oral option is much easier,” said Rob. “There's also an opportunity for them to be offered in primary care.”
