Jazz Pharmaceuticals plc (NASDAQ:JAZZ) has initiated a new Phase 3 trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of Epidiolex (cannabidiol), known as Epidyolex in Europe, in children and adolescents with epilepsy with myoclonic-atonic seizures (EMAS). The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study will investigate EMAS-associated seizure frequency over the 14-week treatment period compared to baseline. The company's cannabidiol is not currently approved in the United States or European Union for the treatment of EMAS.
EMAS – also known as myoclonic astatic epilepsy (MAE) or Doose syndrome – is a developmental and epileptic encephalopathy that begins in early childhood. EMAS accounts for between one and two percent of all childhood-onset epilepsies. Seizures in children with EMAS are often difficult to treat and may not respond well to medication.
