Efficacy and Safety of Eslicarbazepine Acetate (BIA 2-093) in Acute Manic Episodes Associated With Bipolar I Disorder

This was a phase II, double-blind, fixed multiple dose, randomised, placebo-controlled, multicentre clinical trial in patients with a diagnosis of bipolar I disorder who experienced an acute manic (including mixed) episode. Patients who met the selection criteria at randomisation visit (V) (V2, Day 1) were randomised to 1 of 4 treatment groups: 600, 1200, or 1800 mg eslicarbazepine acetate, or placebo. Patients started the assigned treatment on Day 1 and were followed for up to 3 weeks. On Day 10, patients who showed no improvement were switched to open-label escape therapy with an established antimanic therapy. Patients could have been hospitalized at screening or at any time during the study at the investigator's discretion. Following randomisation (V2, Day 1), patients were assessed on Days 3, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28, and 56, after which they could either enter a recurrence prevention study, or the study drug could be tapered off and they could undergo follow-up assessments.