Eisai receives EU approval for new epilepsy drug

Eisai has been granted European Commission approval to market its new epilepsy treatment Fycompa across the EU.

The AMPA receptor antagonist has been approved as an adjunctive treatment for partial-onset seizures, with or without secondarily generalised seizures, among epilepsy patients aged 12 years and older.

This is the first approval anywhere in the world for this new class of partial epilepsy treatment, with the European Commission's decision being based on positive safety and efficacy data from three phase III clinical trials.

Eisai will now be rolling out the product across Europe in order to enhance the treatment of epilepsy, a condition that affects an estimated six million people in the region.

The company said: "By enhancing its epilepsy drug development capabilities … Eisai seeks to make further contributions to address the diversified needs of – and increase the benefits provided to – epilepsy patients and their families."

Last week, the firm announced a collaboration with the US biopharmaceutical company Verastem focusing on the development of new cancer therapies.