Development of small peptide CGRP antagonists for migraine therapy

Migraine is an extremely common, disabling condition which ruins the lives of millions of patients worldwide and is hard to treat effectively. The most commonly used anti-migraine medicines cannot be given safely to patients with heart disease. The causes of migraine are not yet fully understood but a hormone called calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) is now thought to be intimately involved. Attempts have been made to block CGRP with synthetic chemicals which have shown some benefits in clinical trials but have been dropped due to toxicity risks. We have developed some novel peptides (very small proteins) which are effective blockers of CGRP but cannot be given by mouth as they would be digested in the gut. Our aim, therefore, is to develop, using cutting edge formulation technology, a preparation of our peptides which can be delivered as a nasal spray to provide rapid, safe and effective therapy to all categories of migraine patients.