Safety and tolerability of short-term infusions of intravenous lacosamide in pediatric patients with epilepsy: An open-label, phase 2/3 trial

ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to evaluate the safety and tolerability of intravenous (IV) lacosamide infusion in patients aged >= 1 month to <17 years with epilepsy. MethodsThis Phase 2/3 open-label trial (EP0060; NCT02710890) enrolled patients in two age cohorts (cohort 1: >= 8 to <17 years; cohort 2: >= 1 month to <8 years). Eligible patients were receiving oral lacosamide as adjunctive treatment or monotherapy (in an open-label long-term trial or by prescription) or were not receiving lacosamide before enrolment. Patients initiated IV lacosamide (2-12 mg/kg/day or 100-600 mg/day; 15-60 minutes infusion) as a replacement for oral lacosamide or as adjunctive treatment. The primary outcomes were treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) and discontinuations due to TEAEs. ResultsIn total, 103 patients were enrolled and completed the trial; 55 patients were included in cohort 1 (>= 8 to <17 years), 48 in cohort 2 (>= 1 month to <8 years). During the 4 weeks before screening, 74 (71.8%) patients had focal seizures, 12 (11.7%) had generalized seizures, and two (1.9%) had unclassified seizures. Most patients (74 [71.8%]) initiated lacosamide as adjunctive IV treatment. The mean overall duration of exposure to IV lacosamide was 1.18 days. Seventy-nine (76.7%) patients had one IV lacosamide infusion, 20 (19.4%) had two, one (1.0%) had three, and three (2.9%) had 10 infusions. Overall, five (4.9%) patients had a total of seven TEAEs. The only TEAEs reported in two or more patients were increased blood triglycerides (two [1.9%]). No serious or severe TEAEs were reported, and no patients discontinued due to TEAEs. No TEAEs were considered drug-related by the investigator. No consistent or clinically relevant treatment-related changes from baseline were observed for hematology, clinical chemistry parameters, vital signs, or 12-lead electrocardiograms. SignificanceIV lacosamide was generally well tolerated in pediatric patients (>= 1 month to <17 years) with epilepsy, and no new safety concerns were identified.