The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) just approved the first novel antipsychotic treatment in decades. The new drug, Cobenfy, was developed specifically for schizophrenia and works differently than traditional drugs used for the condition, which affects an estimated 0.25% to 0.64% of US adults.
Other antipsychotic treatments work by blocking dopamine receptors, reducing symptoms like hallucinations and paranoia. However, they don’t typically help with symptoms like social withdrawal and cognitive impairment. And they often come with disabling side effects like weight gain.
The new drug indirectly influences dopamine levels by changing levels of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which carries messages from your brain to your body through nerve cells.
“This is the first time, really since the advent of these medicines, that a new mechanism has come out, so there is really a lot of excitement that maybe we have something new to treat patients with,” said. Frederick C. Nucifora, director of the Adult Schizophrenia Clinic at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
While this is promising news, experts are still unsure about the drug’s long-term impacts or side effects on patients, as its controlled studies only lasted for five weeks.
“We don’t know how it works in any substantial way past five weeks,” said David Rind, the chief medical officer of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review. As a result, both doctors and patients “are a little wary of claims before they actually see what happens with the drugs.”
There is some evidence, however, that Cobenfy could also treat symptoms in patients with other conditions, like bipolar mania, Alzheimer’s disease, or autism-related irritability.
Of course, drug companies are excited about Cobenfy’s potential—especially since it’s expected to generate $3 billion to $5 billion in revenue per year, according to Matt Phipps, head of biotechnology equity research at William Blair. This projection depends on whether the drug will also assist in psychosis for patients with dementia.
Doctors are particularly eager to help individuals suffering from the debilitating disorder.
“As a schizophrenia researcher, I’m embarrassed to say we’ve spent literally billions of American taxpayer dollars on genetics, looking to understand what causes schizophrenia to help us develop new drugs for schizophrenia, and we have not been successful,” said Mark Weiser, the chief of the division of psychiatry at the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv.
“That’s what’s so exciting about this. There’s been a real dearth of stuff that’s new.”
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