Avadel Recognizes World Narcolepsy Day and Announces New Data Presentations from Pivotal Phase 3 REST-ON Trial of FT218 at Upcoming Conference

DUBLIN, Ireland, Sept. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avadel Pharmaceuticals plc (Nasdaq: AVDL), a company focused on transforming medicines to transform lives, today announced its support of the third annual World Narcolepsy Day on Wednesday, September 22. FT218 is the Company’s current lead drug candidate, an investigational formulation of sodium oxybate designed to be taken once at bedtime for the treatment of excessive daytime sleepiness and cataplexy in adults with narcolepsy. FT218 is currently under review at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act target date of October 15, 2021.

World Narcolepsy Day was established by 28 patient advocacy organizations across six continents to raise global awareness and improve outcomes for people with narcolepsy. As part of Avadel’s support of World Narcolepsy Day, the Company recently launched Narcolepsy Disrupts, a narcolepsy awareness campaign for patients, their loved ones and healthcare providers about the importance of prioritizing more natural sleep patterns. The campaign, which was created based on insights from the patient community, provides educational resources such as lifestyle changes and coping strategies to help those with narcolepsy achieve better sleep.

“Excessive daytime sleepiness is my most bothersome symptom during the day, but I also have hallucinations at night, which are very frightening – so managing my condition 24/7 is challenging,” said Diana, a person with narcolepsy type 2. “If I don’t nap on the weekends, I cannot keep up with my husband and my 3-year-old son and if I stay up late on weeknights, I can hardly keep up with my job because of difficulty concentrating due to brain fog. I appreciate the effort behind World Narcolepsy Day to help spread awareness and educate people about what it’s like to live with narcolepsy so that we can reduce delays in diagnosis."

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological condition that impairs the brain's ability to regulate the sleep-wake cycle and affects approximately three million people globally. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, symptoms often start in childhood, adolescence or young adulthood (ages 7 to 25) but can occur at any time in life. Symptoms can vary by person but may include excessive daytime sleepiness, disturbed nighttime sleep, a sudden loss of muscle tone usually triggered by strong emotion (cataplexy), sleep paralysis, and hypnagogic hallucinations. Narcolepsy that occurs with cataplexy is called type 1 narcolepsy. Narcolepsy that occurs without cataplexy is known as type 2 narcolepsy.