Approximately 1% of the world population (50 million people) suffers from epilepsy. Although the long-established anti-epileptic drugs allow 80% of newly diagnosed patients to remain seizure-free, many patients experience intolerable side effects the remaining 20% of patients do not respond to these drugs. There has therefore been a need for new anti-epileptic drugs, and the past decade has seen the licensing of eight new drugs worldwide, although these drugs have made little impact on the prognosis of refractory epilepsy. Furthermore, the side effect profiles of these new drugs do not differ significantly from the established antiepileptic drugs, so new anti-epileptic drugs with novel therapeutic targets, enhanced efficacy and minimal side effects are needed.