Brexpiprazole Displays Efficacy in Patients With Severe Psychotic Symptoms

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ORLANDO, Fla.—Brexpiprazole demonstrated “robust efficacy” in the treatment of patients with schizophrenia who have severe psychotic symptoms, researchers reported at Psych Congress 2018.

A post hoc analysis of 3 short-term studies was conducted for patients with a baseline Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) Total score above 95, the median score of the overall patient population in the studies.

Lead researcher Nicole Meade, PhD, Senior Medical Science Liaison, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., said the analysis was conducted because “oftentimes, the severity of symptoms is a key predictor of poor treatment outcomes” in patients with schizophrenia.

Depression Ebbs With Adjunctive, Flexibly Dosed Brexpiprazole

There were 681 patients who had severe schizophrenia at baseline, with an average baseline PANSS Total score of 106. Of those, 427 were assigned to 2-4 mg of brexpiprazole, an atypical antipsychotic, while 254 received a placebo.

The treatment group had a mean improvement in PANSS Total score of 24.03, vs 17.27 for patients receiving placebo. Efficacy was also demonstrated by a number of other measures, Dr. Meade said, with effect sizes of greater than 0.2.

The response rate was 46.9% for patients taking brexpiprazole, compared with a 27.3% response rate in the placebo group. Similar results were seen in patients with less severe symptoms, according to Otsuka, and the adverse events in each group were similar.

“Brexpiprazole is displaying efficacy in both populations,” Dr. Meade said.

The poster was sponsored by Otsuka, which markets brexpiprazole as Rexulti.

—Terri Airov

Reference

Data demonstrate safety and efficacy of brexpiprazole in patients with schizophrenia experiencing severe psychotic symptoms [press release]. Orlando, FL: Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and H. Lundbeck A/S; October 27, 2018.

Meade N, Shi L, Meehan S, Weiss C. Efficacy and safety of brexpiprazole in patients with schizophrenia presenting with severe psychotic symptoms during an acute exacerbation. Poster presented at Psych Congress 2018 ; October 25-28, 2018; Orlando, FL. Poster 124.

Psych Topics:

https://www.psychcongress.com/article/pc18-9

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Good to know since I’m on it now! I have noticed a significant reduction in my symptoms and improvement in my mood and anxiety, at the very low dose of 1 mg.

I’m not totally symptom free or anything, but I’ve definitely noticed a change. Whether that is due to life circumstances or the rexulti, time will tell…

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Now you can enjoy life. Let’s start with sex.

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Well that may be a leap. There is a guy I’m somewhat interested in currently so who knows where that might lead. I’m trying to push myself while also trying not to push myself to the point where I break, you know?

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I’m on it too, feel like I’m starting too get my life back. Is that the only AP your on? If so how’s your weight?

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Oh it’s fine haven’t noticed any fluctuations. It’s supposedly an improved version of Abilify & I didn’t gain any weight on that one either. I am on a tiny dose though, I was just raised to 2 mg today so I’ll see how it goes.

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