Epilepsy | Unmet Need | Childhood Absence Epilepsy | US/EU5 | 2019
Childhood absence epilepsy (CAE) is characterized by frequent and brief absence seizures in children aged 4-12 and is diagnosed in approximately 10-15% of all childhood epilepsies. Only a handful of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) are believed to be effective in CAE, and only two of these drugs (ethosuximide and valproate) are approved to treat absence seizures. Treatment becomes more complicated if the patient also suffers from co-occurring generalized tonic-clonic (GTC) seizures. Moreover, all AEDs currently used for CAE are associated with clinical shortcomings in efficacy, safety, and/or delivery. Thus, ample opportunity exists for new and improved alternatives, renewing developers’ interest in this space.
Questions Answered
- What clinical end points and drug attributes are most influential in prescribing for CAE? How do currently available drugs like ethosuximide, valproate, and lamotrigine perform on these attributes?
- What are the prevailing areas of unmet need and opportunity in the treatment of CAE?
- Based on conjoint analysis and TPP simulation, what trade-offs between efficacy, safety, and price are neurologists willing to make for a hypothetical new AED for CAE?
Markets covered: United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany.
Primary Research: Survey of 60 U.S. neurologists and 31 European neurologists.
Key Drugs Covered: Ethosuximide, valproate, lamotrigine, levetiracetam, topiramate, zonisamide.
Key metrics included:
- Target Product Profile (TPP) simulator based on conjoint analysis methodology.
- Stated vs. derived importance of product attributes on prescribing behavior.
- Assessment of current drug performance against treatment drivers and goals.
- Physician perceptions of unmet needs in the indication and related indications.
- Analysis of remaining drug development opportunities.
Product Description
Unmet Need supports clinical development decisions by identifying key attributes and assessing areas of unmet need for a specific disease or subpopulation. Based on surveys with U.S. and European physicians, this report provides insight into key treatment drivers and goals, the performance of current therapies, and the remaining commercial opportunities. Two market scenarios are profiled in detail by DRG experts, and additional customized market scenarios can be evaluated with the corresponding TPP simulator.
