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  4. You are here: Which patients could benefit from ONTOZRY® (cenobamate)?

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This webpage is intended for UK and Ireland healthcare professionals.

▼This medicinal product is subject to additional monitoring. This will allow quick identification of new safety information. Adverse events and product complaint should be reported. Reporting forms and information can be found at www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard for the UK or www.hpra.ie for Ireland. Adverse events and product complaint should also be reported to Angelini Pharma on (UK) +44 2034889643, (IRE) +353 1 584 4671 or UKIReporting@angelinipharma.com

Which patients could benefit from ONTOZRY® (cenobamate)?

Great Britain: ONTOZRY®is indicated for the adjunctive treatment of focal-onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation in adult patients with epilepsy who have not been adequately controlled, despite treatment with at least 2 anti-epileptic medicinal products1

ROI: ONTOZRY®is indicated for the adjunctive treatment of focal-onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation in adult patients with epilepsy who have not been adequately controlled despite a history of treatment with at least 2 anti-epileptic medicinal products2

NICE Technology appraisal guidance (TA753)3

NICE recommends the use of ONTOZRY® as an option for treating focal-onset seizures with or without secondary generalised seizures in adults with drug-resistant epilepsy that has not been adequately controlled with at least 2 anti-seizure medicines.3

It is recommended only if:3

    • it is used as an add-on treatment, after at least 1 other add-on treatment has not controlled seizures, and
    • treatment is started in a tertiary epilepsy service

Adjunctive ONTOZRY® has been accepted for restricted use within NHS Scotland5

Indication under review:5

For the adjunctive treatment of focal-onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation in adult patients with epilepsy who have not been adequately controlled despite treatment with at least 2 anti-epileptic medicinal products. 

SMC restriction:5

    • In patients with drug-resistant epilepsy as a second-line adjunctive anti-seizure medicine, after the failure of the first adjunctive anti-seizure medicine
    • In patients with uncontrolled focal seizures, despite treatment with anti-epileptic medicines, cenobamate was superior to placebo in terms of the proportion of patients experiencing a ≥50% reduction in focal seizure frequency

If you think your patient would benefit from ONTOZRY® use as described above, this treatment should be available on the NHS in Scotland.

Adjunctive ONTOZRY® in patients with different seizure types6

ONTOZRY® in patients with different disease backgrounds7

C017: A multicentre, double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled, dose-response trial of cenobamate as adjunctive therapy in subjects with focal onset seizures, with optional open-label extension8

  • Pivotal Phase IIb, multinational, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled (efficacy and safety) study
  • Primary endpoint: Percentage of patients achieving ≥50% reduction from baseline in focal seizure frequency (during the 12-week maintenance phase of the double-blind treatment period) when adding placebo or ONTOZRY® to an ongoing regimen of 1-3 ASMs (SOC)
  • One of the secondary endpoints: Percentage change from baseline in seizure frequency per 28 days by seizure type (focal aware with motor component, focal with impaired awareness, or focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures)

C021: An open-label, multicentre, safety and pharmacokinetic study of YKP3089 as adjunctive therapy in subjects with partial onset seizures9

  • During the development of cenobamate, 3 cases of drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms (DRESS) occurred. To mitigate the rate of DRESS, a start-low, go-slow approach was studied: C021 was an ongoing, large multicentre Phase III, open-label study to assess the long-term safety of adjunctive ONTOZRY® when initiating ONTOZRY® at a low dose (12.5 mg/day) and titrating every 2 weeks. At data cut-off, 1,347 patients were enrolled; 1,339 patients received ≥1 treatment dose. After 12 months, patients benefiting from treatment may continue on ONTOZRY® at the discretion of the investigator. Safety assessments included reported AEs. Monthly reviews of all AEs in the clinical database via standardised MedDRA queries for hypersensitivity and DRESS were performed. In addition, physical examinations to identify signs of hypersensitivity were performed every 2 weeks during the first 4 months of treatment, at Year 1, and yearly thereafter.

Footnotes

*In patients who had focal onset seizures uncontrolled despite treatment with at least one ASM within the past 2 years and taking 1-3 concomitant ASMs at stable doses for at least 4 weeks prior to screening. In the randomly assigned population at baseline, median number of previous ASMs taken at any time before the start of the study was 3 (range 2-4); these might or might not have been ongoing during the study. 74% (n=322/437) of patients were taking 2-3 concomitant ASMs during the study. Post hoc analysis of median percentage change in 28-day focal seizure frequency, mITT-M population (all randomly assigned adult patients who completed the 6-week titration phase, took at least one dose of study drug in the maintenance phase, and had maintenance phase seizure data). Median percentage change in 28-day focal seizure frequency in patients taking ONTOZRY® 400 mg/day was: focal aware motor seizures, n=20/82, 69% reduction, p=0.0001 vs placebo; focal impaired awareness, n=86/355, 62% reduction, p<0.0001 vs placebo; focal to bilateral tonic-clonic, n=36/145, 83% reduction, p=0.0045 vs placebo.6

Post hoc analysis. Groups were: 1 (n=64/397), 2 (n=156/397) or >2 (n=177/397) concomitant ASMs; median baseline seizure frequency/28 days ≤9.5 (n=204/397) or >9.5 (n=193/397); median baseline epilepsy duration ≤23 (n=212/397) or >23 (n=185/397) years.7

Adverse reactions reported in clinical studies are listed in the table per system organ class and per frequency. Within each frequency group, undesirable effects are ranked in decreasing order of severity: very common (≥1/10); common (≥1/100 to <1/10); uncommon (≥1/1,000 to <1/100) and rare (≥1/10,000 to <1/1,000).1,2 

§Grouped terms: Somnolence: somnolence, fatigue, sedation and hypersomnia; Coordination and gait abnormalities: dizziness, vertigo, balance disorder, ataxia, gait disturbance and abnormal coordination; Hypersensitivity: hypersensitivity, drug hypersensitivity, eyelid oedema; Rash: rash, rash erythematous, rash generalised, rash macular, rash maculo-papular, rash morbilliform, rash papular, rash pruritic; Hepatic enzyme increased: alanine aminotransferase increased, aspartate aminotransferase increased, hepatic enzyme increased, hepatic function abnormal, transaminases increased.1,2 

AE = adverse event; ASM = anti-seizure medication; DRESS = drug reaction with eosinophilia and systemic symptoms; HCP = healthcare professional; MedDRA = Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities; mITT-M = modified intention-to-treat maintenance phase; NICE = National Institute for Health and Care Excellence; SMC = Scottish Medicines Consortium; SmPC = Summary of Product Characteristics; SOC = standard of care.

© NICE 2024 Cenobamate for treating focal onset seizures in epilepsy. Technology appraisal guidance TA753. Available from https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta753.
Resource impact statement. Available from https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta753/resources/resource-impact-statement-pdf-14123088042181. All rights reserved. Subject to Notice of rights. NICE guidance is prepared for the National Health Service in England. All NICE guidance is subject to regular review and may be updated or withdrawn. NICE accepts no responsibility for the use of its content in this product/publication.

© SMC 2022 Advice available from https://www.scottishmedicines.org.uk/medicines-advice/cenobamate-ontozry-full-smc2408. All rights reserved. Subject to Notice of rights. SMC advice is prepared for the National Health Service in Scotland. SMC accepts no responsibility for the use of its content in this product/publication.

 

  1. Great Britain: ONTOZRY® Summary of Product Characteristics.
  2. ROI: ONTOZRY® EMA Summary of Product Characteristics.
  3. NICE. Cenobamate for treating focal onset seizures in epilepsy. Technology appraisal guidance TA753. 15 December 2021. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta753 (last accessed November 2024).
  4. NICE. Resource impact statement. 15 December 2021. Available at: https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ta753/resources/resource-impact-statement-pdf-14123088042181 (last accessed November 2024).
  5. SMC Advice: Cenobamate. 7 February 2022. Available at: https://www.scottishmedicines.org.uk/medicines-advice/cenobamate-ontozry-full-smc2408 (last accessed November 2024).
  6. Krauss GL, et al. Lancet Neurol. 2020;19(1):38-48 and supplementary appendix.
  7. Rosenfeld WE, et al. Epilepsia. 2021;62(12):3016-28.
  8. Klein P, et al. Lancet Neurol. In Press.
  9. Sperling MR, et al. Epilepsia. 2021;62(12):3005-15.
  10. Sperling MR, et al. Epilepsia. 2020;61(6):1099-108.

MAT-UKI-0064-P | November 2024

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