New First-in-class Epilepsy Treatment Fycompa® (perampanel) Approved In Israel

New First-in-class Epilepsy TreatmentNew First-in-class Epilepsy Treatment Fycompa® (perampanel) Approved In Israel PR Newswire HATFIELD, England, October 22, 2013 ®Fycompa (perampanel), the first in an entirely new class of treatment for uncontrolled partial-onset seizures (the most common form of epilepsy) is approved in Israel. The new therapy is indicated as an adjunctive treatment for partial-onset seizures, with or without secondary generalised seizures, in [1]people with epilepsy aged 12 years and older. In Israel, perampanel will be launched and marketed by Megapharm, Eisai's local CNS partner. Perampanel is the first and only licensed anti-epileptic drug (AED) to selectively target AMPA receptors, a protein in the brain which plays a [2]critical role in causing seizures. This mechanism of action is different to other, currently available AEDs. In addition, perampanel has the added [1]benefit of convenient, once-daily dosing at bedtime and, significantly, is the only new-generation partial epilepsy treatment approved to treat adolescents with epilepsy from launch. "We are proud to be Eisai's partner for the Israeli pharmaceutical market," commented Miron Drucker, CEO of Megapharm. "We are excited about the impending launch of Fycompa. It will bolster our strong position in the epilepsy and CNS market and provide patients and doctors in Israel with an important new treatment option that has already proved useful in other parts of the world.