Brivaracetam: A Review in Partial-Onset (Focal) Seizures in Patients with Epilepsy

Brivaracetam (Briviact(®); BRIVLERA™) is a high affinity synaptic vesicle protein 2A (SV2A) ligand available orally (as a tablet or solution) or intravenously (as a bolus or infusion) in various countries worldwide, including the USA, Canada and those of the EU. It is approved as adjunctive therapy for the treatment of partial-onset seizures (POS) in adults (aged ≥18 years) [USA, EU and Canada] and adolescents (aged 16 to <18 years) [USA and EU] with epilepsy. In multinational, phase III studies in adults and adolescents (aged ≥16 years), oral brivaracetam as adjunctive therapy to other antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) was generally associated with significant median percent reductions over placebo in seizure frequency and significant improvements in the proportion of patients achieving a ≥50 % reduction in seizure frequency compared with placebo. These benefits appeared to be sustained during up to 96 months' therapy in follow-up studies. Whether administered orally or intravenously, adjunctive brivaracetam was generally well tolerated in clinical studies, with the majority of treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) being mild or moderate in intensity. In the absence of head-to-head studies, definitive conclusions on the comparative efficacy and tolerability of brivaracetam versus newer AEDs are not yet possible. In the meantime, brivaracetam extends the options currently available for the treatment of POS in patients aged ≥16 years with epilepsy.