On Jan. 4, Mitsubishi Tanabe Pharma Korea (CEO : Yomogida Osamu) announced the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) has green lit a narcolepsy treatment Wakix Film Coated Tablet (pitolisant hydrochloride) on Dec. 30, 2020, for marketing in the South Korean market.

Wakix is indicated to treat cataplexy in adult patients with narcolepsy. The marketing approval would allow Wakix to be the only treatment option for cataplexy in narcolepsy.

A rare chronic disease narcolepsy has limited treatment option in South Korea. In the U.S. and EU, modafinil, sodium oxybate, solriamfetol and pitolisant are used as a narcolepsy treatment, but only modafinil and an isomer armodafinil are approved in S