Cenobamate Reduces Antiseizure Medication Use in Adults With Focal Onset Seizures 

Adults with focal onset seizures (also known as partial seizures) treated with cenobamate (Xcopri, SK Life Science, Paramus, NJ) experienced a 29% reduction in concomitant antiseizure medication use after 1 year and a 32% reduction after 2 years, according to research presented at the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting. Participants in the study receiving the cenobamate therapy also reported favorable seizure reduction rates of more than 50%. All-cause mortality rates (4 per 1,000 person years) and rates of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP; 0.88 per 1,000 person years) in those taking cenobamate as part of the study were similar to all-cause mortality rates and SUDEP rates reported in other community-based analyses for individuals with epilepsy.  

"When treating patients with epilepsy, the number of antiseizure medications they are taking, or their drug load, is an important factor to be mindful of as increased drug load may lead to increased adverse events," said William E. Rosenfeld, MD, FAAN, FAES, principal investigator at the Comprehensive Epilepsy Care Center for Children and Adults in St. Louis, MO, and consultant, SK Life Science. "Data from the open-label phase 3 study showed that some patients taking Xcopri were able to reduce their drug load while maintaining similar rates of seizure reduction."

Reported results of antiseizure medication use reduction and seizure reduction rates were derived from a post-hoc analysis of a subset of patients (n = 240) from a phase 3, multicenter, open-label study of cenobamate, approved in the United States for the treatment of partial-onset seizures in adults and available. Results of all-cause mortality and SUDEP were derived from pooled data