Zonegran® (Zonisamide) Approved for Use in Children and Adolescents by Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC)

Zonegran® (Zonisamide) Approved forZonegran® (Zonisamide) Approved for Use in Children and Adolescents by Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) PR Newswire HATFIELD, England, March 10, 2014 ®Zonegran (zonisamide) has been approved by the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) for the treatment of partial epilepsy in adolescents and [1]children aged six years and above in Scotland. This decision follows zonisamide's paediatric license extension approval by the European Commission (EC) on 3 October 2013. Already available in Scotland as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of partial seizures, with or without secondary generalisation, in adults, zonisamide is a second generation anti-epileptic drug (AED) with multiple mechanisms of action and a chemical structure unrelated to any other [2]AEDs. "Uncontrolled epilepsy can affect all aspects of children and their family's lives and so new, effective and well tolerated medications are always needed," commented Professor Martin Brodie, Director of the Epilepsy Unit at the Western Infirmary in Glasgow. "My extensive experience of treating adults with zonisamide in Scotland has demonstrated its effectiveness in [3]reducing partial onset seizures and I look forward to seeing this opportunity extended to children and adolescents." Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases and affects [4]around 54,000 people in Scotland.