Gedeon Richter: A new hope for treatment-resistant schizophrenia?

BUDAPEST, Hungary, Oct. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- At the 23^rd World Congress of Psychiatry, organized between 28 September – 1 October 2023 in Vienna, new analyses of cariprazine studies were presented by Gedeon Richter Plc. The posters provided evidence about the safety profile of cariprazine over the approved dose range as well as showed the effectiveness of cariprazine-clozapine combination for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. In addition to the e-poster presentations, Prof Christoph U. Correll talked about the activating and sedating effects of antipsychotics with special focus on cariprazine at a Meet-the-Expert session.

Schizophrenia is a chronic psychiatric disorder characterized by positive, negative, cognitive, and mood symptoms, affecting 1% of the population. Although antipsychotics are effective in the treatment of positive symptoms, the management of negative, cognitive, and affective symptoms often remains challenging.

Treatment with clozapine is the gold standard when it comes to treatment-resistant schizophrenia (TRS). Nonetheless, partial response characterized by residual negative and cognitive symptoms is common. Cariprazine is a 3^rd generation antipsychotic medication with a unique receptor profile and proven efficacy in persistent negative symptoms. The combination of these two antipsychotics might provide a viable solution for patients with insufficient response to clozapine, and according to the data that were highlighted at the conference, by targeting different receptors, cariprazine and clozapine appear to act synergistically. This combination might provide a vital solution for millions suffering from TRS around the world.

Another Gedeon Richter poster highlighted that although in schizophrenia, cariprazine's approved dose range is 1.5-6.0 mg/day, doses above 6.0 mg/day were tested in clinical trials and are sometimes used in real-life settings too. Therefore, pooled analysis examined cariprazine's safety profile above 6.0 mg/day, showing a similar safety profile above and within the approved dose range both in clinical, and in real-life settings. Nevertheless, clinicians are advised to adhere to the approved doses (i.e., 1.5-6.0 mg/day) whenever possible.

At the Gedeon Richter and Recordati supported Meet-the-Expert session, Professor Christoph U. Correll talked about the activating-sedating effects of antipsychotics with special focus on cariprazine. After introducing how antipsychotics have evolved, he emphasized the treatment needs in schizophrenia in terms of symptom and functionality improvement, and safety. Next, he focused on the differentiating characteristics of partial agonists, and showcased data on cariprazine's efficacy in the improvement of negative and cognitive symptoms, as well as functionality, leading to the behavioral activation of patients.

About Richter  and  About Cariprazine