New Clozapine Monitoring Schedule

A US Food and Drug Administration advisory panel has recommended thatthe requirement for white blood cell monitoring in patients treated with the antipsychotic clozapine (Novartis' Clozaril) be reduced to a biweekly basis after the first six months. The drug remains one of the most effective available for the treatment of schizophrenia, but its use is limited by a risk of agranulocytosis. The move was sought by patient advocates who claimed that weekly monitoring was a hurdle to initiating treatment with the drug. Novartis itself recommended against a reduction in testing frequency.