According to Eisai, Halaven, its breast cancer treatment has met its primary endpoint target in a pivotal phase III clinical trial.

The Embrace study data published in The Lancet medical journal demonstrates the Eisai treatment was capable of delivering overall survival benefits to women suffering from late stage metastatic breast cancer.

A global trial involving 762 patients for comparing the efficacy of Halaven to a control group treated with single agent therapies, was responsible for reaching the above conclusion.

US and Singapore have already given their approval to Halaven, which has also recently received a positive opinion from the European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.

However, there are some side effects reported by patients receiving Halaven, the most common being low white blood cells (82%), low red blood cells (58%), weakness / tiredness (54%), hair loss (45%), numbness, tingling or burning in the hands and feet (35%), nausea (35%) and constipation (25%).

Neutropenia with or without fever (4% and 2%, respectively) was the most common serious side effect reported in patients receiving Halaven, while the most common side effect of discontinuing treatment with Halaven being peripheral neuropathy (5%).

In January 2011, Eisai announced its plans for applying for EU and US regulatory clearance for Perampanel, its new epilepsy drug in the first quarter of the year.