TITUSVILLE, NJ, June 30, 2005 -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday approved a new use for TOPAMAX (topiramate) Tablets and TOPAMAX (topiramate capsules) Sprinkle Capsules as initial monotherapy in patients 10 years of age and older with partial-onset or primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures.

Effectiveness was demonstrated in a controlled trial in patients with epilepsy who had no more than two seizures in the three months prior to enrollment. Safety and effectiveness in patients who were converted to monotherapy from a previous regimen of other anticonvulsant drugs have not been established in controlled trials.

"Anti-epilepsy medications, or neuromodulators, are selected based on seizure type; however, the specific seizure type may not always be obvious at the time of diagnosis," said Tracy Glauser, M.D., director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital. "A treatment like TOPAMAX, which provides coverage for both partial-onset and primarily generalized tonic-clonic seizures, offers doctors an option in situations where differentiating between these seizure types is difficult."

Epilepsy is characterized by seizures, which are abnormal electrical discharges in the brain that temporarily disrupt normal brain function. Seizures are classified as "generalized," originating in both sides of the brain simultaneously, or "partial-onset," starting in one area of the brain.

In a double-blind clinical trial, 470 patients with partial-onset or primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures were randomized to treatment with 50 mg or 400 mg/day of TOPAMAX. The primary efficacy assessment was a group comparison of time to first seizure during the double-blind phase of the study. Comparison of the Kaplan-Meier survival curves of time to first seizure favored the 400 mg/day group over the 50mg/day group. The recommended dose for monotherapy in patients 10 years of age and older is 400 mg/da
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Contact: Debbie Harvey
dharvey@golinharris.com
312-729-4374
Golin/Harris International
30-Jun-2005

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