SPARC licenses epilepsy drug Elepsia XR to Sun Pharma

Anil Raghavan, CEO, SPARC, said, “The licensing of Elepsia XR is a step ahead in our desire to make it available for thousands of epilepsy patients taking multiple pills of levetiracetam every day. Elepsia XR is designed as a novel once-a-day formulation of levetiracetam using SPARC’s proprietary Wrap Matrix technology. It is designed to reduce pill burden and help improve convenience and compliance in these patients. If and when the US FDA reapproves the Elepsia XR application, Sun Pharma’s significant US presence will help SPARC in commercialising this important product for patients in the US market.”

Elepsia XR is a novel investigational product designed as an extended release formulation of levetiracetam 1000 mg and 1500 mg. Levetiracetam products currently approved by FDA and available on the US market are generally indicated for adjunctive therapy in the treatment of partial onset seizures in patients 12 years of age and older with epilepsy. As per IMS MAT December 2015, approximately 9 million prescriptions were dispensed for levetiracetam making it one of the most widely prescribed treatments for epilepsy in the US.

Commenting on the in-licensing, Kirti Ganorkar, senior vice president, business development, Sun Pharma, said, “The in-licensing of Elepsia XRTM will facilitate Sun Pharma’s anticipated entry into the proprietary CNS segment in the US. This is a part of Sun Pharma’s strategy, to strengthen its presence in the US specialty segment through its newly created Sun Neurosciences business unit. We believe that SPARC’s Wrap Matrix technology will help in differentiating Elepsia XR among other competing products.”