Key takeaways:
Emgality (galcanezumab-gnlm) is a subcutaneous (under-the-skin) injection that’s FDA approved for migraine prevention and the treatment of episodic cluster headache. It's available in a prefilled pen containing 120 mg and a prefilled syringe containing either 100 mg or 120 mg.
How often and how long you inject Emgality depends on the dosage form you’re using. Emgality is injected monthly for migraine prevention. For episodic cluster headaches, the first dose is injected at the start of the cluster period. This dose is repeated monthly until the end of the cluster period.
Emgality pens and syringes last longest if you store them in the refrigerator. You can also store Emgality at room temperature for up to 7 days if needed.
There are ways to save on Emgality. If you’re eligible, a manufacturer savings card can help you get Emgality for as little as $35 per month. A patient assistance program is also available.
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If you get migraine headaches, you know how painful and debilitating they can be. Thankfully, newer long-acting medications can help prevent them from happening in the first place. One option your prescriber may consider for you is Emgality (galcanezumab-gnlm). Along with migraine prevention, Emgality is also FDA approved to treat episodic cluster headaches.
Emgality is administered as a subcutaneous (under-the-skin) injection. You can give yourself the injections at home. Your healthcare team should show you how to do this properly. But we’ll provide a refresher on the steps for injecting Emgality in a safe and effective way.
1. How to inject Emgality
Emgality comes in a single-dose injection pen or syringe. With both forms, you’ll follow these initial instructions before injecting your dose.
Prepare your Emgality injection
First, you’ll prepare your Emgality pen or syringe:
Take your Emgality pen or syringe out of the fridge.
Let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes to lower your risk of discomfort from injecting the medication while it’s cold. Don’t warm it using a microwave or hot water; let it warm up naturally.
Check the expiration date to make sure the medication is still good to use.
Make sure the medication inside the pen or syringe isn’t discolored and that it’s particle-free.
Pick your Emgality injection site
Next, you’ll pick your injection site. Avoid areas of skin that are red, bruised, or tender. You can inject Emgality in one of four areas of your body:
Stomach area: Avoid the area within 2 inches of your belly button.
Front of the thigh: Pick a spot that’s at least 2 inches above your knee and 2 inches below your groin.
Back of upper arm: Only use this area if someone else is giving you the shot, since it’s harder to reach on your own.
Buttock: This is another area that can be used if someone else is giving you the injection.
How you inject Emgality depends on which form you’re using. Your healthcare team will show you how to administer the injection properly. But here are some basic instructions.
Using an Emgality injection pen
For the Emgality injection pen, follow these steps to inject your dose:
Clean the injection site with an alcohol wipe, allowing your skin to dry fully.
Take off the base cap at the needle-end of the pen. Keep in mind that once you remove the cap, you can’t put it back on. Doing so could damage the device.
Place the clear base flat against your skin, at a 90-degree position.
Unlock the pen by turning the lock ring to the unlock position (looks like an open padlock).
Press and hold the teal-colored injection button. You should hear a loud click. This will tell you that the needle has started injecting your medication into your skin.
Hold your pen firmly against your skin until you hear a second loud click. This should take about 10 seconds. The second loud click tells you that the injection is complete.
Remove your pen from your skin. Seeing a little bit of blood at the injection site is normal. Press a cotton ball on the area to clean it, but don’t rub your skin.
Each Emgality injection pen contains one dose. Throw the used pen away into a sharps container afterward. If you need to administer another injection, follow these same instructions. But don’t inject it into the same spot as the first injection.
Using an Emgality syringe
If you’re using the Emgality syringe, follow these steps to inject your dose:
Clean the injection site with an alcohol wipe, allowing your skin to dry fully.
Remove the needle cap. As with the prefilled pen, once you remove the needle cap, don’t put it back on.
Gently pinch and hold a fold of skin at your chosen injection site.
Push the needle into your skin at a 45-degree position.
Slowly push the plunger all the way in until all the medicine is injected. If the plunger fails to descend fully before your injection is complete, stop using Emgality. Remove the needle from your skin and throw away the syringe. Contact your care team for next steps.
Remove the needle from your skin. Press a cotton ball or gauze at the injection site to remove any blood you see. Don’t rub your injection site.
Migraine prevention injections: Learn more about how migraine prevention injections work, their potential side effects, and who’s a good candidate to receive them.
Emgality side effects: Do you have pain, redness, and itching where you inject Emgality (galcanezumab-gnlm)? Learn more about potential Emgality side effects and how to manage them.
Migraine medication comparison: There are many options available for migraine treatment and prevention. Here’s how triptans and medications such as Emgality compare.
The Emgality prefilled syringe contains one dose. After injecting the medication, throw the used syringe away into a sharps container. Follow these same instructions if you need to administer another injection. Don’t use the exact same injection site again.
2. Your Emgality dosage depends on why you’re taking it
Emgality is prescribed to prevent migraines and to treat episodic cluster headaches. When you inject your Emgality depends on why you’re using it. Be sure to follow your prescriber’s instructions.
For migraine prevention, you’ll start with a loading dose — two back-to-back injections of 120 mg each (240 mg total). After that, you’ll inject one 120 mg dose every month.
Episodic cluster headache is a type of headache that occurs in cluster periods, lasting from weeks to months. In between attacks, you’ll have pain-free periods that last for a few weeks. For cluster headaches, you’ll inject your first Emgality dose at the start of a cluster period — three back-to-back injections of 100 mg each (300 mg total). You’ll repeat this same dose monthly after that until the end of the cluster period.
3. Emgality injections last longest when stored in the refrigerator
Emgality should be stored in the refrigerator, between 36°F and 46°F, in its original box. When it’s stored in this way, Emgality is good to use until the expiration date noted on the package. You can also keep Emgality out of the refrigerator (up to 86°F) in its original box for up to 7 days when needed. Throw it away if you don’t use it within this time frame.
Keep Emgality away from the cooling element in your refrigerator. This could cause it to accidentally freeze. Don’t use the pen or syringe if they appear to have been frozen (even if they thaw out again later).
4. Don’t use Emgality if it’s cloudy or has particles in it
Before injecting Emgality, check your pen or syringe carefully for any signs of damage, discoloration, or particles. The medication should be particle-free and clear, but it could also be a slightly yellow or slightly brown color.
Don’t use Emgality if you notice particles in it or if it looks cloudy. These may be signs that the medication is spoiled. Throw your medication away if it looks damaged.
It’s OK to use Emgality if you see some air bubbles or a drop of medication at the needle tip when you remove the cap.
5. Throw away used Emgality pens in a proper sharps container
Dispose of your Emgality pens and syringes in a sharps container immediately after use. This is the best way to avoid accidental needle sticks for yourself, other people, and pets in the house.
You can buy FDA-cleared sharps containers at your local pharmacy without a prescription. You can also order them online. If you’re looking for a free sharps container, reach out to your local health department. They may be able to help you.
Alternatively, you can use a thick, sturdy container found in your house. One example is an empty laundry detergent container or an empty bleach container. Just make sure the container you use has the following features:
Made of heavy-duty plastic
Has a tight-fitting, puncture-resistant lid
Can be upright and stable during use
Is leak-resistant
Has a label warning of hazardous waste
Replace your container once it’s almost full. You can find a free drop-off location in your area or use a pickup or mail-back service. But those aren’t usually free.
Disposal laws can vary depending on where you live. To learn how to dispose of sharps containers in your state, check the Safe Needle Disposal website or contact them at 1-800-643-1643.
6. There are steps you can take if you miss your Emgality dose
Emgality works best when it’s used as directed. But if you miss a dose, there are steps you can take to get back on track.
If you miss an Emgality dose, inject your missed dose as soon as you remember. After that, schedule your next dose a month from that day. But if your last Emgality dose was over a month ago, talk to your care team for next steps.
How to save on Emgality
There are ways to save on Emgality, which is available as a reference (brand-name) biologic. There currently aren’t any lower-cost biosimilars available. GoodRx can help you navigate between copay savings cards and patient assistance programs to save money on your prescription.
Save with a copay savings card. If you have commercial insurance, you may be eligible to pay as little as $35 per month for Emgality using a savings card from the manufacturer.
Save with patient assistance programs. If you’re uninsured or underinsured, you may be eligible for Emgality’s patient assistance program, which offers the medication free of cost.
Frequently asked questions
Common symptoms of injection site reactions include redness, swelling, and warmth around where you injected a medication. You may also experience itching, mild pain, or a lump under the skin.
Injection site reactions typically resolve within 1 to 2 days of injection. If your symptoms last longer than this or seem severe or widespread, tell your prescriber.
You can inject Emgality at any time of day that’s convenient for you. Just be sure to inject your dose on the same day each month. This will help the medication work consistently.
Emgality has a loading dose for migraine prevention to help the medication reach steady levels in your bloodstream quicker. This helps the medication start working to prevent migraines sooner.
Studies found that people who received a loading dose of Emgality had steady blood levels of the medication 1 month afterwards. By comparison, people who didn’t receive a loading dose didn’t have steady levels for 4 to 5 months after their first dose.
Common symptoms of injection site reactions include redness, swelling, and warmth around where you injected a medication. You may also experience itching, mild pain, or a lump under the skin.
Injection site reactions typically resolve within 1 to 2 days of injection. If your symptoms last longer than this or seem severe or widespread, tell your prescriber.
You can inject Emgality at any time of day that’s convenient for you. Just be sure to inject your dose on the same day each month. This will help the medication work consistently.
Emgality has a loading dose for migraine prevention to help the medication reach steady levels in your bloodstream quicker. This helps the medication start working to prevent migraines sooner.
Studies found that people who received a loading dose of Emgality had steady blood levels of the medication 1 month afterwards. By comparison, people who didn’t receive a loading dose didn’t have steady levels for 4 to 5 months after their first dose.
The bottom line
Emgality (galcanezumab-gnlm) is an injectable medication that helps prevent migraines and treats episodic cluster headaches. It comes in a single-dose injection pen or syringe.
How you inject Emgality depends on the form you’ve been prescribed. You can choose between injecting it subcutaneously (under the skin) in your stomach area or thigh. If someone else is giving you the injection, they can also inject it into your upper arm or buttock.
Talk to your prescriber or pharmacist if you have any questions about how to inject, store, or dispose of Emgality.
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References
Eli Lilly and Company. (2019). Instructions for use Emgality (em-GAL-it-ē) (galcanezumab-gnlm) injection, for subcutaneous use prefilled pen [package insert].
Eli Lilly and Company. (2019). Instructions for use Emgality (em-GAL-it-ē) (galcanezumab-gnlm) injection, for subcutaneous use prefilled syringe [package insert].
Eli Lilly and Company. (2025). Emgality- galcanezumab-gnlm injection, solution [package insert].
Kielbasa, W., et al. (2019). Population pharmacokinetics of galcanezumab, an anti‐CGRP antibody, following subcutaneous dosing to healthy individuals and patients with migraine. Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
MedlinePlus. (2023). Cluster headache.
MedlinePlus. (2025). Galcanezumab-gnlm injection.
U.S. Food & Drug Administration. (2021). Sharps disposal containers.
