Pfizer's Lyrica Hits Primary Endpoints in Epilepsy Trial

Pfizer (NYSE: PFE  ) released in a press statement yesterday that its anticonvulsant drug Lyrica met the primary endpoints in a phase 3 study judging the medication's effectiveness as an epilepsy therapy for patients with refractory partial onset seizures.

The study showed that Lyrica reduced seizures by at least 50% in an acceptable amount of patients. It also proved Lyrica to be as effective as a comparable treatment, the seizure therapy Keppra.

Refractory partial onset seizures refer to those incidents that medication alone cannot completely control. Lyrica is already approved for a number of other indications around the world, such as fibromyalgia and neuropathic pain. Pfizer's previous studies for the medication's effectiveness against epilepsy have been mixed, however, including a 2012 study involving a once-a-day Lyrica formulation that failed.