Singapore: Japan-headquartered Eisai's UK manufacturing subsidiary Eisai Manufacturing, situated within the company's European Knowledge Centre (EKC), has received a license from the European regulatory authorities for solid dose manufacturing of the antiepileptic agent Fycompa (perampanel) at its Hatfield production plant. Fycompa is a first-in-class AMPA receptor antagonist discovered and developed in-house.

Positioning the Hatfield plant as a global supply hub for Fycompa, Eisai plans to obtain authorization from the regulatory authorities in other countries to use the site to manufacture the drug for supply in each respective market.

The opening ceremony was attended by the Rt Hon David Willetts, Minister of State for Universities and Science, UK, who expressed his hopes that Eisai will continue its endeavors toward the creation of innovative new medicines that bring benefits to patients.

Discovered and developed at Eisai's research laboratories in Japan and the UK, Fycompa was approved in the European Union ahead of other regions in the world for use as an adjunctive treatment for partial onset seizures, with or without secondarily generalized seizures, in patients aged 12 years and older. It was first launched globally in the UK earlier this month, followed by Germany, Austria and Denmark.