The company BRAINco Biopharma, jointly with UCB Pharma, has started the DICE Study for Difficult- to-Control Epilepsies. This study, the first of its kind on a national level, will provide information on the factors leading to therapeutic failure in epileptic patients due to clinical, genetic or environmental causes. Currently, 400,000 people suffer from epilepsy in Spain, of which 30% cannot control their crises with currently available treatments.

Specialised doctors from 65 epilepsy units or specialised centres are involved in this epidemiological, transversal and multi-centre study that will evaluate 650 patients distributed in two groups: 325 with drug-controlled epilepsy and 325 with difficult-to-control epilepsy.

Thus, the DICE Study will determine the genetic differences between both patient groups and, if appropriate, validate a diagnostic test for difficult-to-control epilepsy in order to find the best therapeutic option.

Data collection and analysis shall be done over a six-month period, ending in March 2011. Once this phase has been completed, the final report is expected to be issued in June 2011.

BRAINco Biopharma, a company of Progenika Group is specialised in the study of disorders of the nervous system. The company will conduct clinical research using patients' saliva samples and will analyse genes, polymorphisms and mutations related to difficult-to-control epilepsy.