Eisai's Fycompa launches in Belgium for partial-onset seizures

Eplilepsy drug Fycompa (perampanel), developed by Japanese dug major Eisai (TYO: 4568), launches today in Belgium. It is indicated for use with partial-onset seizures, with or without secondarily generalized seizures, in patients with epilepsy who are aged 12 years or older.

This is the only licensed anti-epileptic drug to selectively target the protein in the brain which plays a critical role in the spread of seizures, the company says. This mechanism is different to other currently-available anti-epileptic drugs, and has the added benefit of once-daily dosing before sleep. It is the only new-generation partial epilepsy treatment approved to treat adolescents from launch.

Belgium alone has around 60,000 people with epilepsy, and the successful treatment of partial onset seizures remains a challenge in some patients, with the incidence of uncontrolled partial epilepsy remaining high despite many anti-epileptic drugs.