Eslicarbazepine acetate

Eslicarbazepine acetate, a prodrug of eslicarbazepine (S-licarbazepine), is a novel, voltage-gated sodium channel antagonist under development for the adjunctive treatment of adult patients experiencing treatment-refractory partial-onset seizures. * In phase III trials, eslicarbazepine acetate 800 and 1200 mg once daily significantly reduced seizure frequency compared with placebo over 12 weeks of maintenance treatment in adults experiencing partial-onset seizures who were taking 1-3 concomitant antiepileptic drugs. * During long-term, open-label treatment for up to 1 year, eslicarbazepine acetate at a median dosage of 800 mg once daily produced sustained reductions from baseline in seizure frequency. * Long-term treatment with eslicarbazepine acetate significantly improved from baseline health-related quality of life as assessed by the Quality-of-Life in Epilepsy Inventory-31 instrument. Similarly, eslicarbazepine acetate significantly reduced depressive symptoms assessed by the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. * Eslicarbazepine acetate was generally well tolerated in clinical trials. The majority of treatment-emergent adverse events were of mild to moderate severity and most occurred early in treatment.