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Pronunciation | /ˌbrɪvəˈræsətəm/ BRIV-ə-RASS-ə-təm |
Trade names | Briviact, Nubriveo, Brivajoy |
AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
MedlinePlus | a616027 |
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Routes of administration | By mouth, intravenous |
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Pharmacokinetic data | |
Bioavailability | Nearly 100% |
Protein binding | ≤20% |
Metabolism | Hydrolysis by amidase, CYP2C19-mediated hydroxylation |
Metabolites | 3 inactive metabolites |
Elimination half-life | ≈9 hours |
Excretion | Kidneys (>95%) [4] |
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ECHA InfoCard | 100.118.642 |
Chemical and physical data | |
Formula | C11H20N2O2 |
Molar mass | 212.293 g·mol−1 |
3D model (JSmol) | |
Specific rotation | [α]D −60° |
Melting point | 72 to 77 °C (162 to 171 °F) |
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Brivaracetam, sold under the brand name Briviact among others, is a chemical analog of levetiracetam, a racetam derivative with anticonvulsant (antiepileptic) properties. [5] [6] It has been approved since 2016. It is marketed by the pharmaceutical company UCB. [7] [8] It is used to treat partial-onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation, in combination with other antiepileptic drugs.
Brivaracetam is used to treat partial-onset seizures with or without secondary generalisation, in combination with other antiepileptic drugs. Efficacy and tolerability is comparable in general and Intellectual Disability populations. [9] No data are available for its effectiveness and safety in people younger than 16 years of age. [10] [11] [12]
The most common adverse effects include sleepiness, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. More rarely, coordination problems and changes in behaviour (such as severe depression, aggression, hostility, impatience, rage, suicidal ideation, etc.) can occur. [10] [11]
No clinically relevant differences in adverse effects incidence for the starting doses were observed, except for a dose–response relationship for somnolence and fatigue. [13]
Coadministration of brivaracetam with carbamazepine may increase exposure to carbamazepine-epoxide, the active metabolite of carbamazepine, and could theoretically lead to reduced tolerability. Coadministration of brivaracetam with phenytoin may increase phenytoin levels. Coadministration of other antiseizure drugs are unlikely to affect brivaracetam exposure. Brivaracetam provides no added therapeutic benefit when administered in conjunction with levetiracetam that acts on the same protein. [14]
No pharmacokinetic interaction was observed between single-dose 200mg brivaracetam and 0.6g/L ethanol in healthy subjects. However, brivaracetam approximately doubled the effect of alcohol on psychomotor function, attention and memory. Alcohol use while under brivaracetam treatment is not recommended. [11]
Brivaracetam is believed to act by binding to the ubiquitous synaptic vesicle glycoprotein 2A (SV2A), like levetiracetam, but with 20-fold greater affinity. [15] [16] There is some evidence that racetams including levetiracetam and brivaracetam access the luminal side of recycling synaptic vesicles during vesicular endocytosis. They may reduce excitatory neurotransmitter release and enhance synaptic depression during trains of high-frequency activity, such as is believed to occur during epileptic activity. [17]
Brivaracetam exhibits linear pharmacokinetics over a wide dose range, is rapidly and completely absorbed after oral administration, has an elimination half-life of seven to eight hours, and has plasma protein binding of less than 20%. It is extensively metabolized (>90%), primarily via hydrolysis of the acetamide group, and secondarily through hydroxylation mediated by the liver enzyme CYP2C19. The three major metabolites (hydroxy, acid, and hydroxyacid) are pharmacologically inactive. Brivaracetam is eliminated as urinary metabolites, with over 95% of a radioactive test dose recovered in the urine within 72 hours, including only 8.6% as unchanged brivaracetam. [18]
Brivaracetam can be interchanged with levetiracetam as follows: 50 mg Brivaracetam by 1,000 mg levetiracetam, 100 mg of brivaracetam by 2,000 mg levetiracetam, and 200 mg of brivaracetam by 3,000 mg levetiracetam. [19]
As noted above, brivaracetam is primarily metabolized by hydrolysis, via amidase enzymes, to an inactive metabolite. To a lesser extent, it is also metabolized by a minor metabolic pathway via CYP2C19-dependent hydroxylation. Individuals who have no CYP2C19 enzyme activity, "CYP2C19 poor metabolizers", will have a greater exposure to standard doses of brivaracetam. Because they are less able to metabolize the drug to its inactive form for excretion, they may have an increased risk of adverse effects. The most common adverse effects of brivaracetam therapy include sedation, fatigue, dizziness, and nausea. [20] The FDA-approved drug label for brivaracetam states that patients who are CYPC19 poor metabolizers, or are taking medicines that inhibit CYP2C19, may require a dose reduction. [4]
Brivaracetam is the 4R-propyl analogue of the anticonvulsant levetiracetam.
Positive preliminary results from stage III trials were recorded in 2008, [21] along with evidence that it is around ten times more potent for the prevention of certain types of seizure in mouse models than its analogue levetiracetam. [22]
On 14 January 2016, the European Commission, [11] and on 18 February 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) [23] approved brivaracetam under the trade name Briviact. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued an interim final rule[ clarification needed ] placing brivaracetam into schedule V of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA) effective 9 March 2017. [24] As of May 2016 [update] , brivaracetam is not approved in some other countries. It was approved in Australia in August 2016. [25]
In Canada it was approved on 9 March 2016 under the trade name Brivlera. [26]
As of 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration approved a generic drug version of brivaracetam, but as of 2023 it was not yet available as a generic medication. [27] [28]
In Argentina, brivaracetam has been sold under the brand Brivaxon from Raffo Laboratories and Briviact from Biopas Argentina. [29] [30]
In Germany, UCB was unable to demonstrate an additional benefit in 2016, [31] 2018 [32] and 2022 [33] by adding brivaracetam. In Germany, newly approved drugs with new active ingredients have to be evaluated by the Federal Joint Committee (Germany)(Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss) if the pharmaceutical manufacturer wishes to achieve a higher selling price than just the fixed amount. Only if there is an additional benefit, the pharmaceutical manufacturer can negotiate a price with the top association of statutory health insurance companies.
Phenytoin (PHT), sold under the brand name Dilantin among others, is an anti-seizure medication. It is useful for the prevention of tonic-clonic seizures and focal seizures, but not absence seizures. The intravenous form, fosphenytoin, is used for status epilepticus that does not improve with benzodiazepines. It may also be used for certain heart arrhythmias or neuropathic pain. It can be taken intravenously or by mouth. The intravenous form generally begins working within 30 minutes and is effective for roughly 24 hours. Blood levels can be measured to determine the proper dose.
Anticonvulsants are a diverse group of pharmacological agents used in the treatment of epileptic seizures. Anticonvulsants are also increasingly being used in the treatment of bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder, since many seem to act as mood stabilizers, and for the treatment of neuropathic pain. Anticonvulsants suppress the excessive rapid firing of neurons during seizures. Anticonvulsants also prevent the spread of the seizure within the brain.
Fluvoxamine, sold under the brand name Luvox among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It is primarily used to treat major depressive disorder and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), but is also used to treat anxiety disorders such as panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Topiramate, sold under the brand name Topamax among others, is a medication used to treat epilepsy and prevent migraines. It has also been used in alcohol dependence and essential tremor. For epilepsy this includes treatment for generalized or focal seizures. It is taken orally.
Oxcarbazepine, sold under the brand name Trileptal among others, is a medication used to treat epilepsy. For epilepsy it is used for both focal seizures and generalized seizures. It has been used both alone and as add-on therapy in people with bipolar disorder who have had no success with other treatments. It is taken by mouth.
Levetiracetam, sold under the brand name Keppra among others, is a medication used to treat epilepsy. It is used for partial-onset, myoclonic, or tonic–clonic seizures and is taken either by mouth as an immediate or extended release formulation or by injection into a vein.
Piracetam is a drug that has efficacy in cognitive disorders, vertigo, cortical myoclonus, dyslexia, and sickle cell anemia; sources differ on its usefulness for dementia. Piracetam is sold as a medication in many European countries. Sale of piracetam is not illegal in the United States, although it is not regulated nor approved by the FDA, so it is legally sold for research use only.
Tiagabine is an anticonvulsant medication produced by Cephalon that is used in the treatment of epilepsy. The drug is also used off-label in the treatment of anxiety disorders and panic disorder.
Doxepin is a medication belonging to the tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) class of drugs used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic hives, and insomnia. For hives it is a less preferred alternative to antihistamines. It has a mild to moderate benefit for sleeping problems. It is used as a cream for itchiness due to atopic dermatitis or lichen simplex chronicus.
Primidone, sold under various brand names, is a barbiturate medication that is used to treat partial and generalized seizures and essential tremors. It is taken by mouth.
Clobazam, sold under the brand names Frisium, Onfi and others, is a benzodiazepine class medication that was patented in 1968. Clobazam was first synthesized in 1966 and first published in 1969. Clobazam was originally marketed as an anxioselective anxiolytic since 1970, and an anticonvulsant since 1984. The primary drug-development goal was to provide greater anxiolytic, anti-obsessive efficacy with fewer benzodiazepine-related side effects.
Felbamate is an anticonvulsant used in the treatment of epilepsy. It is used to treat partial seizures in adults and partial and generalized seizures associated with Lennox–Gastaut syndrome in children. However, an increased risk of potentially fatal aplastic anemia and/or liver failure limit the drug's usage to severe refractory epilepsy.
Rufinamide is an anticonvulsant medication. It is used in combination with other medication and therapy to treat Lennox–Gastaut syndrome and various other seizure disorders. Rufinamide, a triazole derivative, was developed in 2004 by Novartis Pharma, AG, and is manufactured by Eisai.
Carisbamate is an experimental anticonvulsant drug that was under development by Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development but never marketed.
Seletracetam is a pyrrolidone-derived drug of the racetam family that is structurally related to levetiracetam. It was under development by UCB Pharmaceuticals as a more potent and effective anticonvulsant drug to replace levetiracetam but its development has been halted.
Lacosamide, sold under the brand name Vimpat among others, is a medication used for the treatment of partial-onset seizures and primary generalized tonic-clonic seizures. It is used by mouth or intravenously.
Retigabine (INN) or ezogabine (USAN) is an anticonvulsant used as an adjunctive treatment for partial epilepsies in treatment-experienced adult patients. The drug was developed by Valeant Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline. It was approved by the European Medicines Agency under the trade name Trobalt on March 28, 2011, and by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the trade name Potiga, on June 10, 2011. Production was discontinued in June 2017.
Perampanel, sold under the brand name Fycompa, is an anti-epileptic medication developed by Eisai Co. that is used in addition to other drugs to treat partial seizures and generalized tonic-clonic seizures for people older than twelve years. It was first approved in 2012, and as of 2016, its optimal role in the treatment of epilepsy relative to other drugs was not clear. It was the first antiepileptic drug in the class of selective non-competitive antagonist of AMPA receptors.
Eslicarbazepine acetate (ESL), sold under the brand names Aptiom and Zebinix among others, is an anticonvulsant medication approved for use in Europe and the United States as monotherapy or as additional therapy for partial-onset seizures epilepsy.
Vortioxetine, sold under the brand name Trintellix among others, is an antidepressant of the serotonin modulator and stimulator (SMS) class. Its effectiveness is viewed as similar to that of other antidepressants. It is taken orally.