"This is a huge deal:" New FDA-approved treatment aims to stop migraines before they start

MINNEAPOLIS (CBS 58) -- A new FDA approved treatment for migraines is being called a breakthrough. 

The treatment, called Emgality, is the third in a class of new drugs that tries to stop the headaches before they start. 

Melissa Saffelo Boily got her first migraine at age 7 and ended up in the ER. 

"It feels like a lot of pressure, pain, it's hard to function, you can't think straight," Boily said. 

Through the years, they've gotten worse. She gets about 27 a month. "I've put ice packs or a roller lessens the pain a little bit." 

Her latest experiment was an FDA trial for the self-injectable drug Emgality. It's a once a month treatment meant to stop migraines before they begin.

"This is a huge deal," said Clinical Trial Investigator Dr. Gary Berman. 

The drug binds with a substance of the brain that may cause migraines. Researchers say there are no major side effects. 

"Fifty to 60% of patients get a reduction, get a 50% reduction in migraines each month, so half as many headaches right off the bat," Dr.  Berman said. 

"It's really improved my quality of life by a thousand times," says Melissa Saffelo Boily about Emgality. 

To Melissa, it's monumental. She went from 27 headaches a month to three. 

The drug was recently approved for market by the FDA. The list price for the medication is about $575 a month or nearly $7,000 a year. To help with the cost, the makers of the drug are offering some migraine sufferers the first year of doses for free. 

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