Zecuity, a transdermal migraine patch is now available

Zecuity, a skin patch containing a migraine drug sumatriptan was approved by the FDA almost two years ago, but it became available (by prescription) only last month (see my previous post about Zecuity). The product is not available in retail pharmacies, only from a specialty pharmacy. The doctor who prescribes the patch will usually provide information on where to get it. Otherwise, go to zecuity.com, where you can find a section entitled Migraine Support Solutions. At this site you can verify that your insurance covers this product, get it shipped to you, and then get information on how to apply the patch. A discount coupon is also available on the site and it promises that the copay will be as low as $15. That is a good thing, because it looks like (on GoodRx.com) each patch costs $300. Yes, not $30, but $300 a piece, or $1,200 for a box of 4. I don’t think too many people will be buying this patch if their insurance does not cover it.

So, who is the best candidate for Zecuity? Half of migraine sufferers experience nausea and/or vomiting with their attacks. This makes the absorption of oral drugs, such as triptans (Imitrex, Maxalt, Zomig, etc) so slow as to make them ineffective. In such patients we try to bypass the stomach, which until now was possible to do with a nasal spray, suppository, or an injection. Sumatriptan (Imitrex) is available in the US in tablets, nasal spray and self-administered injections. Nasal spray of sumatriptan is not very effective, but injections work better than tablets. Relief from an injection can occur in as quickly as 10 minutes, but injections can cause more side effects, which are mostly unpleasant rather than dangerous. Obviously, most people would rather not get a shot. One form of injectable sumatriptan delivers the medicine through the skin without a needle (Sumavel), but not without pain see this post.

One other triptan, zolmitriptan (Zomig) is available in a nasal spray and it is more effective than sumatriptan nasal spray, but it is not available in a generic form, making it less accessible because of the high cost and restricted insurance coverage.

The perfect patient for Zecuity is someone who experiences nausea and/or vomiting with their migraine attacks and who does not respond to tablets and has side effects from or aversion to injections. Zecuity provides good relief for such patients with the main side effect being skin irritation from the patch. The patch is fairly large, the size of a palm. It uses a miniature battery to generate an electric current, which helps drive the medicine through the skin. Iontopheresis is the name of this process. Iontopheresis has been known for decades, but Zecuity is the first product approved by the FDA to utilize this technology.

Disclosure – Teva Pharmaceuticals, manufacturer of Zecuity pays me to give lectures about Zecuity to doctors.