Eisai's Fycompa debuts in France following reimbursement agreement

Japanese pharma company Eisai (TYO: 4523) has launched its Fycompa(perampanel), the first in an entirely new class of treatment for partial onset seizures (the most common form of epilepsy), in France.

The company says it has today received reimbursement approval from France’s Comite Economique des Produits de Sante (CEPS). The therapy is indicated for the adjunctive treatment of partial onset seizures, with or without secondarily generalised seizures, in patients with epilepsy aged 12 years and older.

Perampanel is the only licensed anti-epileptic drug (AED) to selectively target AMPA receptors, a protein in the brain which plays a fundamental role in the spread of seizures, says Eisai. This mechanism of action of perampanel is different to other, currently available AEDs. In addition, perampanel has the added benefit of convenient, once-daily dosing at bedtime, in a single tablet irrespective of dosage. Perampanel is also the only new-generation partial epilepsy treatment approved to treat adolescents aged 12 and above, the company noted