Schizophrenia symptoms cut by lurasidone

Japan-based Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma presented positive results from the first Phase III trial of lurasidone, which is under clinical  development globally, for the treatment of patients with schizophrenia,  at the meeting of the  American Psychiatric Association, held in San  Francisco, California.

The randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind trial evaluated the  efficacy and safety of lurasidone 40mg, 80mg and 120mg once daily  compared to placebo, over six weeks in patients with acute  schizophrenia. The 80mg/day dose was significantly more effective than  placebo during the study.

Lurasidone was also well tolerated with a lower overall discontinuation  rate (31%) compared to placebo (43%) and few adverse event-related  discontinuations (6% and 2% for lurasidone and control, respectively).