Progress report on new antiepileptic drugs: A summary of the Thirteenth Eilat Conference on New Antiepileptic Drugs and Devices (EILAT XIII)

SummaryThe Thirteenth Eilat Conference on New Antiepileptic Drugs and Devices (EILAT XIII) took place in Madrid, Spain, on June 26–29, 2016, and was attended by >200 delegates from 31 countries. The present Progress Report provides an update on experimental and clinical results for drugs presented at the Conference. Compounds for which summary data are presented include anAEDapproved in 2016 (brivaracetam), 12 drugs in phase I–IIIclinical development (adenosine, allopregnanolone, bumetanide, cannabidiol, cannabidivarin, 2‐deoxy‐d‐glucose, everolimus, fenfluramine, huperzine A, minocycline,SAGE‐217, and valnoctamide) and 6 compounds or classes of compounds for which only preclinical data are available (bumetanide derivatives,sec‐butylpropylacetamide,FV‐082, 1OP‐2198,NAX810‐2, andSAGE‐689). Overall, the results presented at the Conference show that considerable efforts are ongoing into discovery and development ofAEDs with potentially improved therapeutic profiles compared with existing agents. Many of the drugs discussed in this report show innovative mechanisms of action and many have shown promising results in patients with pharmacoresistant epilepsies, including previously neglected rare and severe epilepsy syndromes.