To help migraine sufferers select appropriate treatment at the onset of symptoms, Zogenix Inc. has redesigned and relaunched its SUMAVEL DosePro Migraine Toolbox provided through physicians. The updated kit contains a sample dose of the SUMAVEL DosePro Needle-free Delivery System (sumatriptan injection) along with educational aids, a journal for tracking migraine attacks and treatments, pharmacy support materials, and a compact carrying case. Zogenix’s goal is to educate patients about new U.S. Headache Consortium Migraine treatment guidelines released in 2012 encouraging patients to keep a variety of treatment options at their disposal, explains Scott Shively, CCO of Zogenix.

“It is important for patients to have access to attack-specific therapy when a migraine sets in,” Shively told PMP News. “These include oral medications as base therapies and fast-acting injectable medications for more serious migraines.”

Migraines “can vary greatly for patients” in terms of “frequency, intensity and speed of onset,” explains Dr. Stephen Silberstein, Professor and Director of the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a statement Zogenix provided to PMP News. “So it is vital that migraine sufferers follow U.S. Headache Consortium Migraine treatment guidelines which recommend having access to a toolbox of treatment options.”

Shively says that after the new guidelines came out, Zogenix had received a number of requests from migraine specialists for additional patient educational materials in its SUMAVEL DosePro Migraine Toolbox, which was originally launched in late 2011. “Migraine sufferers can present their symptoms to any doctor, and they are often looking for a quick solution,” he says. “But this is a more-complex condition that requires not just one medication but multiple medications. It also must be treated holistically. Physicians are an important source of education for patients, but they need help. It is not always easy to get their message across.”

The redesigned toolbox includes a SUMAVEL DosePro product brochure, a key card to access an online video demonstrating the use of SUMAVEL DosePro, and a reminder card outlining how to use the product. It also features a journal for documenting patterns that can help both doctors and patients monitor migraine attacks and the effectiveness of specific treatments.

Catherine O’Connor, Zogenix’s senior group marketing director, neurosciences, led the content revision effort, providing educational content to patients for review and feedback.

“We listened closely to both doctors and patients during our redesign and maintained a continuous feedback loop process,” says Shively.

The toolbox’s size has also been scaled down to better meet storage requirements at doctors’ offices, Shively adds. 

While the toolbox has been redesigned, the SUMAVEL DosePro needle-free injection system itself hasn’t changed. Launched in January 2010, the product delivers sumatriptan via subcutaneous injection in a tenth of a second without a needle, says Shively. “Patients simply need to snap off the cap, click the device to the required level, and press the device to the skin,” he says. The single-use prefilled devices require no assembly or special storage.

In addition to SUMAVEL DosePro, Zogenix is also copromoting Migranal (dihydroergotamine mesylate, USP) Nasal Spray in the United States under an agreement with Valeant Pharmaceuticals International. Migranal is indicated for the acute treatment of migraine headaches with or without aura. According to a statement issued by Zogenix, Migranal is complementary to SUMAVEL DosePro Needle-free Delivery System. “Because the active ingredients in Migranal Nasal Spray and SUMAVEL DosePro are from different classes of migraine prescription medications, Migranal may allow patients to get relief from attacks if they have not responded to triptans, the most widely prescribed class of migraine treatments,” the statement reads.

The new SUMAVEL DosePro Migraine Toolbox, which debuted in June, was designed and printed by Tera Enterprises (Chesterfield, MO). Mallinckrodt is Zogenix’s co-marketing partner for SUMAVEL DosePro.