Publication:

Acotiamide: a novel drug for the treatment of patients with functional dyspepsia

Functional dyspepsia (FD) is a highly prevalent condition with major socioeconomic and healthcare impact. Previously, no pharmacotherapeutic agent had approved for the treatment of this condition. Acotiamide, a new first-in-class oral prokinetic drug, is an upper gastrointestinal motility modulator for the treatment of abdominal symptoms resulting from hypomotility and delayed gastric emptying in patients with functional dyspepsia. It exerts its activity in the stomach via muscarinic receptor inhibition, resulting in enhanced acetylcholine release and inhibition of acetylcholinesterase activity. Unlike other prokinetic drugs that are utilized in the management of functional dyspepsia, acotiamide shows little/no affinity for serotonin or dopamine D2 receptors. Acotiamide is the world’s first approved treatment for functional dyspepsia diagnosed by Rome III criteria, with its first approval occurring in Japan. A favourable clinical course with acotiamide 100mg t.i.d was demonstrated with high symptom elimination rate for patients of FD.