The anti-seizure medication Topamax may have some new competition after a new prescription medication for treating epilepsy was approved for sale by the FDA. This newest approval shows just how close the drug market is getting to finding safer alternatives to some of the current medications.

The newest drug to get FDA approval is Supernus Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s Oxtellar XR. This is the second medication by Supernus to win approval since May. Oxtellar is expected to hit the market during the first quarter in 2013. Earlier this year, another epilepsy drug, Trokendi XR, was approved. This year has seen other drugs gain approval as well. Apixaban and Dabigatran have also been put on the market,and are quickly gaining steam on older medications like Topamax.

Topamax is a prescription epilepsy treatment that is used to prevent seizures. The drug is also used as a migraine treatment. One of the drug’s side effects, weight loss, has also been lauded to the public. In fact, the weight loss aspect of the medication is why the drug was included in the formula for the weight loss drug Qnexia. However it was Topamax’s side effects that almost prevented Qnexia from gaining FDA approval. Much research has been conducted in an effort to find safer alternatives to prescription drugs like Topamax in the treatment of epilepsy.

Epilepsy is a condition that exists in millions of people worldwide and is treated with various different prescription medications like Topamax. Topamax has been proven to cause birth defects in babies whose mothers take the drugs while pregnant. Some of those birth defects include PPHN, spina bifida, oral clefts, heart, lung and brain defects and neural tube defects.

If your child was born with birth defects because of exposure to Topamax, contact attorney Greg Jones today for a free consultation. I am experienced at fighting Topamax lawsuits and may be able to help you recover money for your child’s injuries.