New drug cuts seizures by up to 91% in children with rare epilepsy

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Source: ScienceDaily Health

Original: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260304184215.htm...

Published: Wed, 04 Mar 2026 21:14:30 EST

The new experimental drug zorevunersen shows promise in treating children with Dravet syndrome, a severe genetic form of epilepsy caused by a mutation in the SCN1A gene.[1][2] In phase 1/2a clinical trials, treatment with multiple doses of 70 mg reduced the median seizure frequency by 73.6% 6 months after the last dose, and patients achieved a median of 7 (range 2–20) seizure-free days per 28 days.[2] In ongoing open-label extension studies with maintenance doses of 45 mg every 4 months, patients achieved seizure reductions of 53.0% to 87.0% from baseline by month 8.[2] The treatment improved patients' quality of life, cognition, behavior, and overall functioning.[1][2] Zorevunersen acts as an antisense oligonucleotide that increases the function of the NaV1.1 protein in nerve cells.[1][3] The FDA granted the drug Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Accelerate Development based on these data presented at the American Epilepsy Society 2024 meeting.[1] The results lead to the initiation of phase 3 studies to further verify efficacy and safety.[2][5]