Lack of observed impact of history or concomitant treatment of seasonal allergies or rhinitis on repeated doses of diazepam nasal spray administered per seizure episode in a day, safety, and tolerability: Interim results from a phase 3, open-label, 12-month repeat-dose safety study

Intranasal formulations are commonly used for drug delivery, and the literature has shown that seasonal allergies do not affect nasal administration of some agents. Diazepam nasal spray (Valtoco®) is a proprietary intranasal formulation with n-dodecyl-beta-d-maltoside (Intravail® A3) that is indicated for acute treatment of seizure clusters in patients with epilepsy aged 6 years and older. The analysis presented here is from an interim cutoff of a phase 3 open-label study evaluating the safety and tolerability of diazepam nasal spray. This analysis assessed whether seasonal allergies alter control of seizures with an intranasal formulation, using administration of a second dose as a surrogate efficacy endpoint. Of 158 evaluated patients with epilepsy having seizures despite a stable anti-seizure regimen, 62 patients had medical histories that included seasonal allergies or rhinitis. The results of this analysis show that seasonal allergies did not appear to influence use of a second dose; the groups of patients with and without a history of seasonal allergies both presented with low rates of seizure episodes for which a second dose was used, which suggests that there is not a major difference in pattern of use. Diazepam nasal spray demonstrated a similar safety and tolerability profile in patients with and without a history of seasonal allergies.