Telcagepant (
INN
Inns are generally establishments or buildings where travelers can seek lodging, and usually, food and drink. Inns are typically located in the country or along a highway; before the advent of motorized transportation they also provided accommo ...
) (code name MK-0974) is a
calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist which was an investigational drug for the acute treatment and prevention of
migraine, developed by
Merck & Co.
In the acute treatment of migraine, it was found to have equal potency to
rizatriptan
Rizatriptan, sold under the brand name Maxalt among others, is a medication used for the treatment of migraine headaches. It is taken by mouth.
Common side effects include chest pain, dizziness, dry mouth, and tingling. Other side effects may ...
and
zolmitriptan.
A
Phase IIa clinical trial studying telcagepant for the
prophylaxis
Preventive healthcare, or prophylaxis, consists of measures taken for the purposes of disease prevention.Hugh R. Leavell and E. Gurney Clark as "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life, and promoting physical and mental hea ...
of episodic migraine was stopped on March 26, 2009, after the "identification of two patients with significant elevations in serum transaminases".
A memo to study locations stated that telcagepant had preliminarily been reported to increase the hepatic liver enzyme
alanine transaminase
Alanine transaminase (ALT) is a transaminase enzyme (). It is also called alanine aminotransferase (ALT or ALAT) and was formerly called serum glutamate-pyruvate transaminase or serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and was first characte ...
(ALT) levels in "11 out of 660 randomized (double-blinded) study participants." All study participants were told to stop taking the medication.
In July 2011, Merck announced that it had discontinued development of telcagepant.
See also
*
Olcegepant
References
{{Antimigraine preparations
Abandoned drugs
Antimigraine drugs
Azepanes
Imidazopyridines
Lactams
Fluoroarenes
Piperidines
Calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonists
Ureas
Trifluoromethyl compounds