Vimpat approved in Scotland to treat epilepsy

Belgian drugmaker UCB's Vimpat (lacosamide) has been accepted for use in the National Health Service in Scotland by the Scottish Medicines  Consortium for adults with partial onset seizures in refractory  epilepsy, as an add-on to patients' current therapy. The drug has  previously been approved for this indication y the England and Wales  counterpart, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence  (NICE; Marketletters passim).

The approval is based on three multicenter, randomized,  placebo-controlled clinical trials with a 12-week maintenance period.  Overall, the proportion of patients with a 50% reduction in seizure  frequency was 23%, 34% and 40% for placebo, Vimpat 200mg/day and  400mg/day, respectively.

In addition, results from an open-label extension study demonstrate  long-term retention; of the 370 patients enrolled, 77% were still taking  Vimpat after one year.