A drug under development that would be used as an adjunct to antipsychotics improved cognitive impairment in patients with schizophrenia, according to data from a randomized, controlled Phase II trial.
Encenicline, which is being developed by Forum Pharmaceuticals, is intended to address cognitive impairment, something that impacts almost all people with schizophrenia, but which is not adequately addressed by antipsychotics. The drug is an α-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor partial agonist
In the trial, which was sponsored by Forum, 319 schizophrenia patients were randomized to receive either encenicline in one of two doses daily, or a placebo, for 12 weeks.
Patients in both encenicline dose groups showed significant cognitive improvement based on various measures, according to a presentation made late last month at the 15th International Congress on Schizophrenia Research.
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