Japanese-based Eisai has announced the licensing of Fycompa (perampanel) for adjunctive treatment of partial-onset seizures in Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Fycompa can be used to treat the seizures with or without secondarily generalised seizures, and is also indicated in the UAE to treat primary-generalised, tonic-clonic seizures in patients with idiopathic generalised epilepsy (IGE) aged 12 and older.
Eisai has partnered with Hikma Pharmaceuticals to make Fycompa available in these countries.
The drug targets a type of receptor that plays a critical role in the onset and spread of seizures.
Kork Epilepsy Centre professor, medical director and executive chief physician Bernhard Steinhoff said: "Many patients need multiple anti-epileptic drugs to achieve optimal seizure control.
“The availability of a new treatment option will be welcomed by healthcare professionals and by people living with epilepsy alike."

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataFycompa is a non-competitive, alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA), glutamate receptor antagonist on post-synaptic neurons.
Eisai EMEA global neurology business group vice-president Neil West said: "Eisai is committed to the therapeutic area of neurology and to addressing the unmet medical needs of people with neurological conditions and their families.
“Ensuring access for patients to novel treatments underlines Eisai's human health care (hhc) mission, the company's commitment to innovative solutions in disease prevention, cure and care for the health and wellbeing of people worldwide."
AMPA receptors are present in almost all excitatory neurons and transmit signals stimulated by the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate within the brain.
They also play a vital role in central nervous system diseases that are characterised by excess neuroexcitatory signalling, including epilepsy.