Content about Anticonvulsants

WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J. — The Food and Drug Administration has asked Eisai to redo its regulatory application for a drug to treat epilepsy, Eisai said Friday.

The drug maker said the FDA issued a refusal to file letter in response to its application for perampanel, designed to treat partial-onset seizures in patients with epilepsy. In the letter, the FDA requested reformatting and reanalyses of some datasets, though Eisai said new studies probably were unnecessary.

SUPPLIER NEWS — A generic drug maker has been granted approval from the Food and Drug Administration to manufacture its version of a urinary tract infection treatment. Amneal Pharmaceuticals said that its nitrofurantoin oral suspension in the 25-mg/5-mL strength is the first-to-market generic version of Furadantin, made by Shionogi Pharma. Amneal will sell its generic in 8-oz. (230-mL) size bottles, the company said. Annual U.S. sales of nitrofurantoin oral suspension totaled $40 million for the year ended in January, according to IMS Health data.


RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new indication for an epilepsy drug made by GlaxoSmithKline, the drug maker said Monday.

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Pregnant mothers taking a common drug for treating epilepsy may be putting their babies at risk, according to a new report from the Food and Drug Administration.

The FDA said Friday that the drug topiramate could increase the risk for such birth defects as cleft palate and cleft lip when used by expectant mothers. Johnson & Johnson markets the drug under the name Topamax, and it is available in generic form.

AMITYVILLE, N.Y. — Hi-Tech Pharmacal subsidiary ECR Pharmaceuticals has launched a drug for treating insomnia.

ECR announced Friday the launch of Zolpimist (zolpidem tartrate) oral spray. The drug comes in units that provide 60 metered sprays, administering 5-mg or 10-mg doses of the active ingredient. As a hypnotic agent, the drug is classified as a CIV controlled substance by the federal government.

WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. Merck's supplemental drug applications for its atypical antipsychotic received approval from the Food and Drug Administration, the drug maker said.

Saphris now is indicated for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults, as monotherapy for the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults, and as adjunctive therapy with either lithium or valproate for the acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes associated with bipolar I disorder in adults, Merck said.