Edaravone

Edaravone is a free radical scavenger and neuroprotective agent with antioxidant properties. It has three tautomers. Edaravone works to scavenge reactive oxygen species, which have been implicated in neurological disorders, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and cerebral ischemia.

The intravenous formulation of edaravone was first approved in Japan in 2001 for the treatment of acute ischemic stroke. It was later approved for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in Japan and South Korea in 2015, followed by the FDA approval in May 2017 and Health Canada approval in October 2018. The oral suspension formulation of edaravone was approved by the FDA in May 2022 and by Health Canada in November 2022.

Edaravone was initially granted orphan designation by the European Medicines Agency on June 19, 2015 and was under regulatory review in Europe. However, the drug manufacturer, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma, withdrew the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for edaravone from the European market on May 24, 2019, in response to the request made by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) for a long-term study demonstrating the long-term efficacy and safety of edaravone. Edaravone was also investigated in other disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, neuropathic pain, and ischemia-induced nerve injury.