Strengthening the Case for Epilepsy Drug Development: Bridging Experiences from the Alzheimer's Disease Field-An Opinion.

Strengthening the Case for Epilepsy Drug Development: Bridging Experiences from the Alzheimer's Disease Field-An Opinion. Neurochem Res. 2017 Jun 07;: Authors: Twyman RE Abstract Given the sheer number of drugs (over 20!) available for treatment of seizures, epilepsy can be considered one of the most successful areas in pharmaceutical development and especially for neuroscience. However, despite the large number of drug treatment options available for managing patients with epilepsy, there remains considerable unmet need. For example, the overall impact on seizure control has not been substantial with approximately 30% of patients remaining refractory or their seizures not adequately controlled. Also there is need for epilepsy prevention and for certain sub-populations with severe intractable epilepsy. High unmet need often drives new industry investment into therapeutic market opportunities, however the profound success of antiepileptic drugs has contributed to the hurdles for industry investment in new therapies for epilepsy. Furthermore, the payor environment has also changed with new challenges for evidence generation and demonstration of additive value above existing standard of care treatments. Challenges in translational science, in the clinical trial environment including cost and operational technical difficulty, and in the commercial environment have resulted in the pharmaceutical industry directing investments away from ep...
Source: Neurochemical Research - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Neurochem Res Source Type: research