--- title: FDA Approves a New Nasal Spray to Treat Migraines description: The drug, zavegepant (brand name: Zavzpret), is the first of its type available in a nasal spray. canonical: https://time.com/6261701/nasal-spray-migraine-fda/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-03-10T15:04:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-24T15:33:28.599Z article:section: Health og:title: FDA Approves a New Nasal Spray to Treat Migraines og:description: The drug, zavegepant (brand name: Zavzpret), is the first of its type available in a nasal spray og:url: https://time.com/6261701/nasal-spray-migraine-fda/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69bb4ed7524e6bdb/698a3b024ee262840931b2e3/GettyImages-1448482431.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2121 og:image:height: 1193 og:image:alt: man-migraine og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: FDA Approves a New Nasal Spray to Treat Migraines twitter:description: The drug, zavegepant (brand name: Zavzpret), is the first of its type available in a nasal spray twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69bb4ed7524e6bdb/698a3b024ee262840931b2e3/GettyImages-1448482431.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # FDA Approves a New Nasal Spray to Treat Migraines > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Mar 10, 2023 3:04 PM UTC  Mid adult man in sunbeam in dark. Depression concept. Mid adult man in sunbeam in dark. Depression concept. Getty Images  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Mar 10, 2023 3:04 PM UTC On Mar. 10, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [approved](https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizers-zavzprettm-zavegepant-migraine-nasal-spray) a new treatment for migraines given as a nasal spray, according to the drug’s maker, Pfizer. Zavegepant (brand name: Zavzpret), is the first of a class of migraine treatments known as calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor (CGRP) antagonists to be approved as a nasal spray. Until now, these types of drugs have only been available in oral and injectable forms. In a [release](https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-detail/pfizers-zavzprettm-zavegepant-migraine-nasal-spray) announcing the approval, Pfizer says zavegepant will be available in pharmacies in July. In [studies](https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422%2822%2900517-8/fulltext) previously released by Pfizer and reviewed by the FDA, zavegepant reduced moderate-to-severe headache pain two hours after people used the spray compared to those who squirted a placebo up their nose. Among those receiving the spray, 24% reported pain relief after two hours, compared to 15% of those getting placebo. For some people getting the drug, relief began as soon as 15 minutes after they took the medication. “With CGRP medications, scientists for the first time looked at the pathophysiology of migraine, or what was causing migraine, in order to understand how to modify and alter that process,” says Dr. Kathleen Mullin, associate medical director at New England Institute for Neurology and Headache, and an investigator on one of the zavegepant trials. Experts believe that blocking the calcitonin gene-related peptide receptors in the brain reduces inflammation that is linked to migraine pain. **Read More**: [_5 Ways to Cope with Migraines At Work_](https://time.com/5615056/migraines-work/) Older classes of migraine treatments—such as triptans—work by constricting blood vessels, which is one way to reduce pain in the brain. But such constriction is dangerous for people with heart-related conditions, so that population of headache sufferers have not been able to take the drugs or had to use suboptimal doses to relieve their migraine pain. While CGRP antagonists expanded the group of migraine patients who could find relief with medication, they still left out many patients who couldn’t take pills once their headaches began. Many people experience nausea and vomiting during their migraines and can’t take anything by mouth. In addition, says Mullin, migraines cause a slowing of movement in the digestive tract, so any oral medications aren’t absorbed as quickly and efficiently as they normally would be. A nasal spray acts more quickly and avoids these deterrents. CGRP antagonist medications are used to both prevent and treat migraines, but zavegepant is approved only to treat acute migraine pain once an episode starts. For people who experience four or more migraines a month, doctors can prescribe an injectable CGRP either once a month or every three months. For every migraine patient, however, Mullin says that treatment is important, since “we know that the more headaches people get, the more headaches they will continue to get. Even if you get one headache every three months, your doctor should be prescribing an acute medication to stop that headache.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6261701/nasal-spray-migraine-fda/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6261701/nasal-spray-migraine-fda/"},"headline":"FDA Approves a New Nasal Spray to Treat Migraines","datePublished":"2023-03-10T15:04:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T15:33:28.599Z","description":"The drug, zavegepant (brand name: Zavzpret), is the first of its type available in a nasal spray.","url":"https://time.com/6261701/nasal-spray-migraine-fda/","keywords":["Drugs","healthscienceclimate"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69bb4ed7524e6bdb/698a3b024ee262840931b2e3/GettyImages-1448482431.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alice Park","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/alice-park/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt69bb4ed7524e6bdb/698a3b024ee262840931b2e3/GettyImages-1448482431.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"man-migraine","caption":"man-migraine","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/drugs/","name":"Drugs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6261701/nasal-spray-migraine-fda/","name":"FDA Approves a New Nasal Spray to Treat Migraines"}}]}] ```