In its second large deal of the calendar year, Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. acquired the rights to Xenon Pharmaceutical Inc.’s selective sodium channel inhibitor for treating epileptic encephalopathy. Xenon receives $30 million up front, $20 million in equity and up to $1.7 billion in potential development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments.
On its PDUFA date Thursday, the FDA cleared Xcopri (cenobamate) tablets from South Korea’s SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. to treat partial-onset seizures in adults. The drug’s mechanism of action is not fully understood, but it's believed to work through two separate mechanisms: enhancing inhibitory currents through positive modulation of GABA-A receptors and decreasing excitatory currents by inhibiting the persistent sodium current.
On its PDUFA date Thursday, the FDA cleared Xcopri (cenobamate) tablets from South Korea’s SK Biopharmaceuticals Co. Ltd. to treat partial-onset seizures in adults. The drug’s mechanism of action is not fully understood, but it's believed to work through two separate mechanisms: enhancing inhibitory currents through positive modulation of GABA-A receptors and decreasing excitatory currents by inhibiting the persistent sodium current.
LONDON – The Swiss headquarter operations of Arvelle Therapeutics GmbH are taking shape as the company awaits the outcome later this month of the FDA's deliberations on its in-licensed asset, cenobamate, and prepares to apply for EMA approval for the novel epilepsy treatment in the first half of 2020.
Palo Alto, Calif.-based startup Doc.ai is training its sights on the $9.5 billion global epilepsy market, with the aim of using artificial intelligence to help patients find the best medication to control their seizures. To that end, the company is teaming up with the Stanford University School of Medicine and the Stanford Epilepsy Center on a digital health trial to develop a predictive treatment model that will identify the right treatment at the right time for individuals living with epilepsy.
According to the U.S. Epilepsy Foundation, one in 26 people in the country will develop epilepsy at some point in their lives and the condition is the fourth most common neurological disease that affects people of all ages. That is why the current anti-epilepsy drug therapy market is large and estimated to be worth more than $8.5 billion currently, rising to in excess of $9.5 billion in five years.
