GSK launches first-in-class epilepsy drug

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has launched Trobalt (retigabine), the first in a new class of anti-epileptic drug (AED), for the adjunct treatment of adults with partial-onset seizures, and demonstrated significant effects in a treatment resistant patient population.

Retigabine is the first AED to target neuronal potassium channels, which are involved in inhibitory mechanisms in the brain. Inhibitory mechanisms are thought to have a role in seizure control.

Professor Martin J Brodie, director of the epilepsy unit at Western Infirmary, Glasgow, UK, said: "Trobalt represents a positive addition to the therapeutic armamentarium for the many adult patients with inadequately-controlled focal onset seizures."

The efficacy and safety of retigabine was established in two pivotal multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled, fixed dose studies where patients who were treatment resistant were recruited. Retigabine significantly improved seizure control, with a greater number of patients achieving a reduction in the number of seizures by 50 per or more, compared with placebo.

Retigabine, referred to as ezogabine in the US, is being jointly developed by GSK and Valeant.