Takeda's TAK-994 shows potential for orexin agonists as narcolepsy treatment

Japanese drug major Takeda Pharmaceutical’s (TYO: 4502) TAK-994 has recently received Breakthrough Therapy designation (BTD) from the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) in patients with narcolepsy type 1 (NT1).

The potential approval of TAK-994 could lead to the first treatment that increases orexin activity in patients with narcolepsy, says data and analytics company GlobalData.

Christie Wong, GlobalData’s pharma analysts, commented: “The narcolepsy therapies used to date are only able to alleviate the symptoms associated with the condition. The current treatment landscape for narcolepsy consists of stimulant drugs and a limited number of non-stimulant drugs with modest efficacy as many narcolepsy patients do not respond to the medications. There is a great unmet need for more efficacious treatments for sleepiness symptoms, as EDS is generally the most common and disabling symptom of narcolepsy.”