Eslicarbazepine acetate

Eslicarbazepine acetate (brand names Aptiom, Zebinix, Exalief), abbreviated as ESL, is an anticonvulsant approved for use in Europe and the United States as an adjunctive therapy for epilepsy.

Similarly to oxcarbazepine, ESL behaves as a prodrug to eslicarbazepine ((S)-(+)-licarbazepine). As such, their mechanisms of action are identical. However, there may be pharmacokinetic differences between the two drugs; for instance, ESL may not produce as high of peak levels of (S)-(+)-licarbazepine immediately after dosing as does oxcarbazepine, which could, in theory, improve tolerability.

Like oxcarbazepine, ESL may be used to treat bipolar disorder and trigeminal neuralgia.