Study results show that once-daily 800mg eslicarbazepine acetate has high retention rates as adjuvant treatment in epilepsy

Final results of the non-interventional EPOS (Eslicarbazepine acetate in Partial-Onset Seizure) study, presented at the International Epilepsy Congress (IEC) in Istanbul, show that when once-daily eslicarbazepine acetate is added to a monotherapy there are resultant beneficial effects on patient-rated quality of life (QOLIE-10) and clinician-rated improvement (CGI-GI).¹ Average patient-rated quality of life score decreased from 2.9 (n=128) at baseline to 2.4 (-14.6%; n=114) after 3 months and 2.1 (-20.8%; n=109) after 6 months.¹ The majority of patients have shown to be 'much improved' or 'very much improved' on the clinician-rated improvement after 3 months (64.7%; n=211) and 6 months (75.6%; n=192).¹

Additional EPOS study programme data presented at IEC show that eslicarbazepine acetate is effective and well tolerated in clinical settings, regardless of the monotherapy that is added.² Retention rates (95% confidence intervals) at 6 months when in combination with eslicarbazepine acetate are 100% (76.8-100.0%) for carbamazepine (CBZ), 85.5% (76.1-92.3%) for levetiracetam (LEV), 80.0% (61.4-92.3%) for valproate (VAL) and 75.9% (62.4-86.5%) for lamotrigine (LTG). Responder rates at 6 months are 92.9% (CBZ), 88.5% (VAL), 81.9% (LEV) and 69.8% (LTG).²

"These data show that eslicarbazepine acetate is a suitable add-on to antiepileptic monotherapy in routine clinical practice and results in significant and tangible benefits for people with epilepsy, on a day-to-day basis," comments Martin Holtkamp, Principal Investigator, University Hospital Charité, Germany.

Eslicarbazepine acetate, indicated in Europe as adjunctive therapy in adults with partial onset seizures with or without secondary generalization,³ is a novel once-daily sodium channel blocker that differentially and selectively targets slow inactivated sodium channels. Eslicarbazepine acetate was approved by the European Commission in 2009 based on data submitted that shows it reduces seizure frequency by up to 45% in patients with partial epilepsy.^{4, 5, 6}

Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological conditions, affecting approximately 6 million people in Europe.⁷ Despite the many anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs) available, the successful treatment of partial onset seizures remains a challenge in some patients. Currently, between 20-40% of patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy will become refractory to treatment.⁸

The continued development of eslicarbazepine acetate underscores Eisai's human health care (hhc) mission, the company's commitment to innovative solutions in disease prevention, cure and care for the health and wellbeing of people worldwide. Eslicarbazepine acetate is already available in Albania*, Austria, Czech Republic, Cyprus*, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany (co-promotion with BIAL, the developer of eslicarbazepine acetate), Greece, Iceland, Italy, Malta*, Norway, Portugal*, Republic of Ireland, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia, Sweden, Spain (co-promotion with BIAL), UK (co-promotion with BIAL) and the U.S and Canada**.