Category
Migraine medications and what the FDA label actually says
Migraine medications split along a line that the brand names do nothing to reveal: some are approved to stop an attack that has already started, others to prevent attacks from coming, and exactly one label in this category covers both. Whether a given product is for the moment of pain or for the calendar is the first thing each page here states.
The newer medications all point at the same target, a signaling molecule called CGRP, but they reach it differently: three are daily or as-needed tablets, three are monthly or quarterly injections, and their labels differ in who they cover and what they warn about. The older triptans remain the acute standard, and their labels carry contraindication lists the newer documents do not have.
Nothing here is a recommendation. Every page is built from the prescribing information filed with the FDA and links to the source document; what fits a particular person is a decision for that person and a clinician.
- Medications
- 8
- FDA approved for this
- 8
- FDA labels read
- 8
- Comparisons
- 6
- Carry a boxed warning
- 0
Two labels, side by side
- Nurtec ODTvsUbrelvyNurtec ODT (rimegepant) and Ubrelvy (ubrogepant) are both gepant tablets for migraine attacks - but only one is also approved for prevention. The labels compared.
- Nurtec ODTvsQuliptaNurtec ODT (rimegepant) treats attacks and prevents episodic migraine; Qulipta (atogepant) is preventive only, taken daily. The two FDA labels compared.
- EmgalityvsAjovyEmgality (galcanezumab) and Ajovy (fremanezumab) both bind the CGRP molecule for migraine prevention. Cluster headache, quarterly dosing and pediatrics set them apart.
- AimovigvsEmgalityAimovig (erenumab) binds the CGRP receptor; Emgality (galcanezumab) binds CGRP itself. Two monthly preventive injections whose labels differ in reach - compared.
- Nurtec ODTvsImitrex tabletsNurtec ODT (rimegepant) and Imitrex (sumatriptan) both treat migraine attacks. Their contraindication lists could not be more different - the two labels compared.
- Imitrex tabletsvsMaxaltImitrex (sumatriptan) and Maxalt (rizatriptan) are both triptans for migraine attacks, both long generic. Pediatric coverage and dosing set the labels apart.
FDA approvals and boxed warnings across this category
Built from the 8 labels linked on the pages below, so it cannot drift from them. A boxed warning is the strongest warning the FDA requires, and where several medications carry the same one, it belongs to the class rather than to the product.
| Medication | Class | Approved for migraine | Boxed warning | Supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RimegepantNurtec ODT | ClassCGRP receptor antagonist (gepant) | Approved for migraineYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
| UbrogepantUbrelvy | ClassCGRP receptor antagonist (gepant) | Approved for migraineYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
| AtogepantQulipta | ClassCGRP receptor antagonist (gepant) | Approved for migraineYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
| GalcanezumabEmgality | ClassCGRP ligand antibody | Approved for migraineYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
| ErenumabAimovig | ClassCGRP receptor antibody | Approved for migraineYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
| FremanezumabAjovy | ClassCGRP ligand antibody | Approved for migraineYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
| SumatriptanImitrex tablets | ClassSerotonin 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonist (triptan) | Approved for migraineYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
| RizatriptanMaxalt | ClassSerotonin 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonist (triptan) | Approved for migraineYes | Boxed warningNone | SupplyPrescription |
Approved by the FDA for migraine
Each of these has at least one FDA approval covering this use.
- Rimegepant
CGRP receptor antagonist (gepant). Sold as Nurtec ODT.
Rimegepant is sold as Nurtec ODT and holds a position no other label in this category has: it is approved both for the acute treatment of a migraine attack and for the preventive treatment of episodic migraine. Same tablet, two indications, two different dosing schedules in one document.
- Ubrogepant
CGRP receptor antagonist (gepant). Sold as Ubrelvy.
Ubrogepant is sold as Ubrelvy and is the acute-only gepant: a tablet taken when an attack starts. Its label states the boundary itself - Ubrelvy is not indicated for the preventive treatment of migraine.
- Atogepant
CGRP receptor antagonist (gepant). Sold as Qulipta.
Atogepant is sold as Qulipta and is the preventive-only gepant: a once-daily tablet approved for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults, with dosing that differs between episodic and chronic migraine. It is not a medication for stopping an attack that has started.
- Galcanezumab
CGRP ligand antibody. Sold as Emgality.
Galcanezumab is sold as Emgality, a monthly self-injected antibody for the preventive treatment of migraine - and the only label in this category that also covers episodic cluster headache, a different disease with its own dosing regimen in the same document.
- Erenumab
CGRP receptor antibody. Sold as Aimovig.
Erenumab is sold as Aimovig, a monthly self-injected antibody for the preventive treatment of migraine in adults. Among the three antibodies in this category it stands apart by target: it binds the CGRP receptor, where Emgality and Ajovy bind the CGRP molecule itself.
- Fremanezumab
CGRP ligand antibody. Sold as Ajovy.
Fremanezumab is sold as Ajovy and differs from its neighbours on two practical points: its label offers a quarterly dosing option alongside the monthly one, and it is the only preventive antibody in this category whose label covers pediatric patients - episodic migraine in patients 6 to 17 years old who weigh 45 kg or more.
- Sumatriptan
Serotonin 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonist (triptan). Sold as Imitrex tablets.
Sumatriptan, sold as Imitrex, is the oldest medication in this category and the reference point for acute migraine treatment. This page is built from the tablet label; the label itself is explicit about what the tablets are not for: not prevention, and not cluster headache.
- Rizatriptan
Serotonin 5-HT1B/1D receptor agonist (triptan). Sold as Maxalt.
Rizatriptan, sold as Maxalt and Maxalt-MLT, is the second triptan on these pages and the one whose label reaches children: acute treatment of migraine in adults and in pediatric patients aged 6 to 17. Like all triptans it is for the attack, not the calendar.