Jazz' seizure drug gets FDA orphan status

USA-based drugmaker Jazz Pharmaceuticals says its developmental seizure treatment, JZP-8, has received Orphan Drug designation from the Food and Drug Administration. The product, which is being developed as a therapy for recurrent acute repetitive seizures, is a novel drug delivery formulation that incorporates the widely-prescribed benzodiazepine, clonazepam.

Samuel Saks, Jazz' chief executive, said that "JZP-8 is one of the first development product candidates from our internal identification and development program to enter Phase II." He added that the orphan designation and the initiation in November last year of patient dosing in clinical studies were key steps in its clinical program.