Adults

The effectiveness of SABRIL as adjunctive therapy in adult patients was established in two U.S. multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group clinical studies. A total of 357 adults (age 18 to 60 years) with complex partial seizures, with or without secondary generalization were enrolled (Studies 1 and 2). Patients were required to be on an adequate and stable dose of an anticonvulsant, and have a history of failure on an adequate regimen of carbamazepine or phenytoin. Patients had a history of about 8 seizures per month (median) for about 20 years (median) prior to entrance into the study. These studies were not capable by design of demonstrating direct superiority of SABRIL over any other anticonvulsant added to a regimen to which the patient had not adequately responded. Further, in these studies patients had previously been treated with a limited range of anticonvulsants. 

The primary measure of efficacy was the patient’s reduction in mean monthly frequency of complex partial seizures plus partial seizures secondarily generalized at end of study compared to baseline. 

Study 1

Study 1 (N=174) was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-response study consisting of an 8-week baseline period followed by an 18-week treatment period. Patients were randomized to receive placebo or 1, 3, or 6 g/day vigabatrin administered twice daily. During the first 6 weeks following randomization, the dose was titrated upward beginning with 1 g/day and increasing by 0.5 g/day on days 1 and 5 of each subsequent week in the 3 g/day and 6 g/day groups, until the assigned dose was reached.

Results for the primary measure of effectiveness, reduction in monthly frequency of complex partial seizures, are shown in Table 8. The 3 g/day and 6 g/day dose groups were statistically significantly superior to placebo, but the 6 g/day dose was not superior to the 3 g/day dose.

Figure 1 presents the percentage of patients (X-axis) with a percent reduction in seizure frequency (responder rate) from baseline to the maintenance phase at least as great as that represented on the Y-axis. A positive value on the Y-axis indicates an improvement from baseline (i.e., a decrease in complex partial seizure frequency), while a negative value indicates a worsening from baseline (i.e., an increase in complex partial seizure frequency). Thus, in a display of this type, a curve for an effective treatment is shifted to the left of the curve for placebo. The proportion of patients achieving any particular level of reduction in complex partial seizure frequency was consistently higher for the SABRIL 3 and 6 g/day groups compared to the placebo group. For example, 51% of patients randomized to SABRIL 3 g/day and 53% of patients randomized to SABRIL 6 g/day experienced a 50% or greater reduction in seizure frequency, compared to 9% of patients randomized to placebo. Patients with an increase in seizure frequency >100% are represented on the Y-axis as equal to or greater than -100%. 

Figure 1. Percent Reduction from Baseline in Seizure Frequency

Study 2

Study 2 (N=183 randomized, 182 evaluated for efficacy) was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel study consisting of an 8-week baseline period and a 16-week treatment period. During the first 4 weeks following randomization, the dose of vigabatrin was titrated upward beginning with 1 g/day and increased by 0.5 g/day on a weekly basis to the maintenance dose of 3 g/day.

Results for the primary measure of effectiveness, reduction in monthly complex partial seizure frequency, are shown in Table 9. Vigabatrin 3 g/day was statistically significantly superior to placebo in reducing seizure frequency. 

Figure 2 presents the percentage of patients (X-axis) with a percent reduction in seizure frequency (responder rate) from baseline to the maintenance phase at least as great as that represented on the Y-axis. A positive value on the Y-axis indicates an improvement from baseline (i.e., a decrease in complex partial seizure frequency), while a negative value indicates a worsening from baseline (i.e., an increase in complex partial seizure frequency). Thus, in a display of this type, a curve for an effective treatment is shifted to the left of the curve for placebo. The proportion of patients achieving any particular level of reduction in seizure frequency was consistently higher for the SABRIL 3 g/day group compared to the placebo group. For example, 39% of patients randomized to SABRIL (3 g/day) experienced a 50% or greater reduction in complex partial seizure frequency, compared to 21% of patients randomized to placebo. Patients with an increase in seizure frequency >100% are represented on the Y-axis as equal to or greater than -100%.

Figure 2. Percent Reduction from Baseline in Seizure Frequency

For both studies, there was no difference in the effectiveness of vigabatrin between male and female patients. Analyses of age and race were not possible as nearly all patients were between the ages of 18 to 65 and Caucasian.

Pediatric patients 3 to 16 years of age

SABRIL was studied in three double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group studies in 269 patients who received SABRIL and 104 patients who received placebo. No individual study was considered adequately powered to determine efficacy in pediatric patients age 3 years and above. The data from all three pediatric studies were pooled and used in a pharmacometric bridging analysis using weight-normalized doses to establish efficacy and determine appropriate dosing. All three studies were randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, adjunctive-treatment studies in patients aged 3-16 years with uncontrolled complex partial seizures with or without secondary generalization. The study period included a 6 to 10 week baseline phase and a 14 to 17 week treatment phase (composed of a titration and maintenance period).

The pharmacometric bridging approach consisted of defining a weight-normalized dose-response, and showing that a similar dose-response relationship exists between pediatric patients and adults patients when SABRIL was given as adjunctive therapy for complex partial seizures. Dosing recommendations in pediatric patients 2 to 16 years of age were derived from simulations utilizing these pharmacometric dose-response analyses [see Dosage and Administration (2.2)].