UCB SA (UCBJF) announced positive data from two studies on Vimpat as an early adjunctive therapy in adults suffering from partial-onset seizures. The studies evaluated the efficacy and safety of Vimpat in the patients.

In an open-label study (n=456), UCB showed that Vimpat achieved seizure freedom in patients suffering from uncontrolled partial-onset seizures, who were treated with Vimpat as an adjunct to their first monotherapy (within two years of diagnosis) or as an add-on to antiepileptic drugs (at ≥ 5 years since diagnosis). The primary efficacy endpoint of the study was the measure of the proportion of patients who achieved seizure freedom in the first 12 weeks of the 24 week maintenance phase.

UCB said that 37.5% and 14.9% of the patients treated with Vimpat as first adjunctive therapy and as a later add-on, respectively, achieved seizure freedom during 12 weeks of treatment.

Meanwhile, in the 6-month long VITOBA study (n=573) UCB evaluated the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Vimpat, when added to a single antiepileptic drug, in patients suffering from partial-onset seizures. The study evaluated seizure freedom and reduction in seizure frequency at 6 months (last study visit) compared to a 3-month baseline.

Results showed that 72.5% of the patients achieved ≥50% reduction in seizure frequency, out of which 45.5% achieved seizure freedom.

In this study, patients aged 65 years or more achieved greater seizure freedom or ≥50% response rate than patients aged less than 65 years. Additionally, the study showed that seizure freedom and responder rates were higher among patients treated with Vimpat after the first monotherapy than the patients who had undergone treatment with more than one antiepileptic drug before receiving Vimpat.

We note that Vimpat is already approved as an adjunct therapy for the treatment (with or without secondary generalization) of adolescents (16 years−18 years) and adult epileptic patients suffering from partial-onset seizures.

UCB presented the above results at the 11th European Congress on Epileptology (:ECE) in Stockholm, Sweden.

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