Eisai Introduces First-in-Class Epilepsy Treatment Fycompa® in India

by Shrutee K/DNS

Mumbai: 29th August, 2017 Eisai Pharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd, a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company today announced the launch of Fycompa (perampanel), a new anti-epileptic drug. Approved in more than 55 countries worldwide, Fycompa is indicated as an adjunctive therapy for the treatment of partial-onset seizures (POS) with or without secondarily generalized seizures in patients with epilepsy aged 12 and older.

Fycompa is first in class in-house developed anti-epileptic drug, available in tablet form as a once-daily oral dose.

“Nearly 12 million patients in India suffer from epilepsy and 95% of these patients do not receive adequate treatment. Abiding by our core philosophy of human health care we strive to change this by developing a drug that can significantly improve the quality of life of epileptic patients and give them hope to live a seizure free-life,” said Mr. Sanjit Singh Lamba, Managing Director, Eisai Pharmaceuticals India.”

He further added, “Epilepsy has been a therapeutic focus area for Eisai and we will continue to use our strengths in research and development to create drugs that will improve and enhance the quality of life.”

Adding to this Dr. Manoj Malhotra – Head of Medical Affairs, Americas Region, Global Head of Epilepsy Medical Affairs, Neurology Business Group, Eisai Inc. said “With the launch of many anti-epileptic drugs in the last decade we have seen a significant improvement in seizure freedom rate. However, almost 30-40% of the seizures remain poorly controlled leading to low compliance. Fycompa will help to address these key therapeutic challenges and improve patient outcomes”.

Commenting on the low awareness on epilepsy, Mr. Saumil Mody- Vice President, Commercial Operations, Eisai India Ltd. said “Treatment outcomes for epilepsy are very low because we are dealing with very challenging circumstances, a majority of epilepsy cases go undiagnosed because of numerous factors like the social stigma associated with the disease, lack of awareness of the symptoms particularly in rural India. Our aim is to address these challenges and enable epileptic patients and their families to live a seizure-free life.”

Epilepsy is a condition that affects the brain and causes repeated seizures. Approximately 50 million people worldwide have epilepsy, making it one of the most common neurological diseases globally.

About Eisai Pharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd.: Eisai Pharmaceuticals India Pvt. Ltd is a subsidiary of Eisai Co., Ltd., a leading global research and development-based pharmaceutical company headquartered in Japan. We define our corporate mission as “giving first thought to patients and their families and to increasing the benefits health care provides,” which we call our Human health care (hhc) philosophy. With approximately 10,000 employees working across our global network of R&D facilities, manufacturing sites and marketing subsidiaries, we strive to realize our hhc philosophy by delivering innovative products in various therapeutic areas with high unmet medical needs, including Neurology and Oncology. As a global pharmaceutical company, our mission extends to patients around the world through our investment and participation in partnership-based initiatives to improve access to medicines in developing and emerging countries. For more information about Eisai Co., Ltd., please visit www.eisai.com