Eisai Co. Ltd. said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved its drug Dayvigo for treating insomnia in adults.
The Tokyo-based drugmaker said the U.S. regulator gave the nod to Dayvigo, or lemborexant, as a therapy for insomnia characterized by difficulties with sleep onset and maintenance. Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder, affecting 30% of the adult population globally.
Lemborexant works by acting on the orexin neurotransmitter system, which regulates a person's wakefulness. Eisai was previously collaborating with Purdue Pharma LP on the medicine, but the Japanese company took over sole development of the drug in May after the latter became embroiled in a series of lawsuits over the U.S. opioid epidemic.
Eisai's application for Dayvigo was based on the results of two phase 3 trials called Sunrise 1 and Sunrise 2, which enrolled about 2,000 patients.
Eisai is also seeking Japanese