The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday approved the first medication designed to prevent migraines.
The drug, Aimovig, is made by Amgen and Novartis. It is a monthly injection with a device similar to an insulin pen, according to The New York Times.
It will cost $6,900 a year and be available to patients within a week.
The drug blocks a protein fragment that kick starts migraines and helps them continue, the Times said. Three other companies have similar medicines in the final stages of study or awaiting FDA approval.
"The drugs will have a huge impact," said Dr. Amaal Starling, a migraine specialist and neurologist and the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, according to the Times. "This is really an amazing time for my patient population and for general neurologists treating patients with migraine."
Current migraine treatments involve pills originally designed for epilepsy and other conditions and Botox, according to The Associated Press. Many patients stop them because they don't help much or cause serious side effects.
About 10 million Americans get migraines frequently. Symptoms include throbbing headaches, nausea and vomiting and sensitivity to light and sound.
The symptoms can last for hours or days.
In one study, Aimovig patients saw migraines days cut from eight to four a month, on average, according to AP. Side effects, including colds and respiratory infections, were generally minor.
Some patients saw their migraines eliminated completely, AP said.
Some analysts expected the drug to cost as much as $10,000 a year, according to Reuters. Aimovig sales should reach nearly $1 billion by 2022.
"For now, they look fantastic," said Dr. Stewart J. Tepper, a professor of neurology at Dartmouth College, according to the Times. "They shake the ground under our feet. They change the way we great migraine."
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