New First-in-class Epilepsy Treatment Fycompa® (perampanel) Launches in Spain

New First-in-class Epilepsy TreatmentNew First-in-class Epilepsy Treatment Fycompa® (perampanel) Launches in Spain PR Newswire HATFIELD, England, January 16, 2014 ®Fycompa (perampanel), the first in an entirely new class of treatment for partial onset seizures (the most common form of epilepsy), launches today in Spain. The new therapy is indicated for the adjunctive treatment of partial-onset seizures, with or without secondarily generalised seizures, in [1]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 critical role in [2]the spread of seizures. This mechanism of action is different to other, currently available AEDs. In addition, perampanel has the added benefit of [1]convenient, once-daily dosing at bedtime and, significantly, is the only new-generation partial epilepsy treatment approved to treat adolescents with epilepsy from launch. [3]Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions in the world. [4]Around 400,000 people in Spain live with the condition. "Almost a third of people with partial epilepsy continue to experience seizures despite the treatment options currently available," commented Dr. José Serratosa, an Epileptologist at the Epilepsy Unit of the Fundación Jiménez Díaz University Hospital, Madrid. "New treatment options such as this are a welcome addition to doctors' epilepsy treatment armamentarium.