Narcolepsy is a globally recognized rare disease. In Asia, the prevalence rate of this condition is 0.0129% in Taiwan and 0.015% in South Korea. The peak age of onset in China is 8-12 years old. Currently, narcolepsy faces challenges such as low public awareness, low diagnosis rate and insufficient effective treatment drugs.
“Tetralogy” is a common symptom of narcolepsy, which is very disturbing to life. (Tetralogy includes excessive daytime sleepiness, cataplexy attack, hypnagogic hallucination and sleep paralysis.)
On June 30, 2023, Pitolisant Hydrochloride Tablets were approved in China for the treatment of adult narcolepsy indications. On December 13, 2023, Pitolisant Hydrochloride Tablets in two formulations were successfully included in the 2023 National Medical Insurance Negotiation Drug List. Pitolisant Hydrochloride Tablets are the world’s first H3 receptor antagonist/inverse agonist that increases the synthesis and release of the wakefulness-promoting neurotransmitter histamine in the brain by enhancing histaminergic neuron activity, thereby improving wakefulness and alertness in patients.
From December 2023 to January 2024, the “Awakening Dreams, Creating the Future – Expert Consultation on Pitolisant Hydrochloride Tablets for Narcolepsy” was held in Guangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. Renowned professors and experts from major hospitals in China participated, discussing guidelines interpretation, disease recognition, drug treatment and case sharing, and providing new perspectives on the treatment of narcolepsy, a globally recognized rare disease.
In Guangzhou, 17 guests from more than 10 hospitals such as Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University, Nanfang Hospital of Southern Medical University, and the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, attended the meeting. Overall, the feedback from the professors and experts on Pitolisant Hydrochloride Tablets was positive, considering it a clinical necessity in the current absence of effective treatments for narcolepsy. Pitolisant Hydrochloride Tablets are considered first-line therapy for the tetralogy associated with narcolepsy.
In Beijing, 14 professors and experts from over 10 hospitals including Xuanwu Hospital Capital Medical University, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Beijing Tiantan Hospital, Capital Medical University, The First Hospital of Hebei Medical University, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Peking University Third Hospital, the Second People’s Hospital of Guizhou Province, Tianjin Children’s Hospital, attended the meeting. Professors and experts emphasized the strong advantages of the drug itself, while also highlighting concerns about its accessibility and pricing, as well as the comorbidity associated with narcolepsy. The professors and experts generally provided positive feedback. Different departments may bring about different prescription opportunities, and there is a need to accelerate coverage in pediatrics and children’s hospitals. However, attention needs to be given to the doctor-patient relationship in cross-indication treatments. Doctors also face issues about patient management and combing, and hope to conduct more patient education and other patient activities.
In Shanghai, 10 professors and experts from 10 hospitals including the Second Affiliated Hospital of Naval Medical University, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Huadong Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, Shanghai Sixth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, Shanghai Ninth People’s Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, and Shanghai Children’s Medical Center Affiliated to Shanghai JiaoTong University School of Medicine, attended the meeting. The professors and experts believed that it is very challenging for rare disease drugs to be included in national medical insurance negotiations and that this inclusion can benefit more patients. Sleep troubles teenagers and adults, and tit is an important direction of neurology in the future. Sleeping too much or too little is a disease. Pitolisant Hydrochloride Tablets, as they are gradually used in clinical practice, will deepen the understanding of the disease. The experts expressed their hope for more indications to be approved in China.
