Schizophrenia News and Research

Latest Schizophrenia News and Research

Alexza reacquires U.S. and Canadian rights for Staccato Loxapine from BLS

Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has reacquired the U.S. and Canadian rights for AZ-004 (Staccato® loxapine) from Biovail Laboratories International SRL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc.. AZ-004 is being developed for the rapid treatment of agitation in schizophrenia or bipolar disorder patients.

20 Oct 2010

Johnson & Johnson third quarter sales decrease 0.7% to $15.0 billion

Johnson & Johnson today announced sales of $15.0 billion for the third quarter of 2010, a decrease of 0.7% as compared to the third quarter of 2009. Operational results increased 0.1% and the negative impact of currency was 0.8%. Domestic sales declined 2.5%, while international sales increased 1.1%, reflecting operational growth of 2.6% and a negative currency impact of 1.5%.

19 Oct 2010

Study observes interaction between HLA-C and ERAP1 genes in psoriasis

Genetic variants associated with increased susceptibility to psoriasis are reported in five papers published online this week in Nature Genetics. Psoriasis is a chronic and recurrent skin disease, and one of the most prevalent autoimmune diseases, with a global prevalence of 2-3%.

19 Oct 2010

2010 Lilly Reintegration Award honorees announced

For the 14th straight year, Eli Lilly and Company honors mental health professionals and individuals for their exceptional contributions and achievements in helping those battling serious mental illness.

18 Oct 2010

Lannett announces launch of Fluphenazine HCl Tablets

Lannett Company, Inc., a manufacturer of generic pharmaceuticals, today announced that it has commenced shipping Fluphenazine HCl Tablets USP, the generic equivalent of Prolixin®, in 1 mg, 2.5 mg, 5 mg and 10 mg dosages. For the 12 months ended September 2010, Fluphenazine HCl Tablets USP, 1 mg, 2.5 mg, 5 mg, & 10 mg had U.S. sales of approximately $28 million at Average Wholesale Price.

18 Oct 2010

UCLA study sheds light on roots of schizophrenia, autism

UCLA scientists have discovered that exposing fetal neurons to higher than normal levels of a common immune protein leads to abnormal brain development in mice.

15 Oct 2010

Omeros receives additional NIDA grant for clinical studies in Addiction program

Omeros Corporation today announced that the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has provided an additional grant to fund clinical studies for the Company's Addiction program. This grant, which is for a total of approximately $3.6 million to be paid over a four-year period in equal amounts, will fund direct and indirect costs of Phase 2 clinical studies to be conducted by researchers at the New York State Psychiatric Institute.

14 Oct 2010

Survey: 94% of psychiatric nurses are dedicated in providing care for people with mental illness

According to a new survey sponsored by Janssen-, Division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc, 94 percent of psychiatric nurses feel very or extremely involved in providing care for people with mental illness. Although some psychiatric nurses believe that their specialty is as difficult as or more difficult than oncology nursing, or emergency nursing, one-third would prefer to be more involved in patient care than they are now. The survey also revealed that psychiatric nurses believe their work affects patient care, with more than 90 percent of psychiatric nurses viewing the time they spend with patients as very important to patient satisfaction with their overall healthcare experience. A majority of the nurses strongly agree that their involvement helps to achieve better outcomes for patients living with mental illness.

14 Oct 2010

Galenea awarded $4.5M NIMH grant to advance Multiwell, Automated NeuroTRansmission Assay platform

Galenea Corp. has been awarded a highly competitive grant from the National Institute of Mental Health in response to the solicitation "Recovery Act Limited Competition: NIH Director's Opportunity for Research in Five Thematic Areas (RC4)," funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Galenea has developed an innovative technology platform, termed MANTRA™ (Multiwell, Automated NeuroTRansmission Assay) that enables high-throughput screening for the identification of small molecule modulators of synaptic transmission.

14 Oct 2010

Stimulating brain's nicotine receptors may eliminate side effects of Alzheimer's drug: Research

A team of neuroscientists has discovered important new information in the search for an effective treatment for Alzheimer's disease, the debilitating neurological disorder that afflicts more than 5.3 million Americans and is the sixth-leading cause of death in the United States. Hey-Kyoung Lee, associate professor in the University of Maryland Department of Biology, and her research team have shown that they may be able to eliminate debilitating side effects caused by a promising Alzheimer's drug by stimulating the brain's nicotine receptors.

14 Oct 2010

Genmab and Lundbeck enter agreement to develop antibody therapeutics

Genmab A/S announced today an agreement to create and develop human antibody therapeutics for disorders of the central nervous system (CNS) with H. Lundbeck A/S. Genmab will create novel human antibodies to three targets identified by Lundbeck. Lundbeck will have access to Genmab's antibody creation and development capabilities, including its state of the art, fully automated pre-clinical antibody screening and characterization capabilities and its proprietary stabilized IgG4 and UniBody therapeutic antibody platforms.

13 Oct 2010

Infection during pregnancy linked to increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in fetus

A pregnant woman's immune response to viral infections may induce subtle neurological changes in the unborn child that can lead to an increased risk for neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia and autism. Research published in the online journal mBio- provides new insights into how this may happen and suggests potential strategies for reducing this risk.

13 Oct 2010

Alkermes' VIVITROL medication for treatment of opioid dependence

Alkermes, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved VIVITROL(naltrexone for extended-release injectable suspension) for the prevention of relapse to opioid dependence, following opioid detoxification.

13 Oct 2010

Lundbeck, Merck announce commercialization agreement for SYCREST sublingual tablets

H. Lundbeck A/S (Lundbeck) and Merck, known outside the United States and Canada as MSD, today announced a commercialization agreement for SYCREST (asenapine) sublingual tablets (5 mg, 10 mg). Under the terms of the agreement, Lundbeck will pay an undisclosed fee as well as product supply payments in exchange for exclusive commercial rights to SYCREST in all markets outside the United States, China and Japan. Lundbeck expects to launch SYCREST in the European Union (EU), where it is already approved, at the beginning of 2011.

12 Oct 2010

NCQA recertifies Lilly's online Health Education Answers program

Lilly's Health Education Answers program, an interactive online health and wellness tool, has received Health Information Product Recertification from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA).

11 Oct 2010

COU-AA-301 Phase 3 study demonstrates improvement in CRPC survival rate

Results from a pre-specified interim analysis of a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study, COU-AA-301, demonstrate that patients treated with the investigational agent abiraterone acetate plus low-dose prednisone/prednisolone showed a significant improvement in overall survival compared to patients treated with prednisone/prednisolone plus placebo.

11 Oct 2010

Valeant announces Alexza's receipt of FDA CRL for AZ-004 NDA

Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. announced today that Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. has received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding Alexza's New Drug Application (NDA) for AZ-004 (Staccato® loxapine) submitted as Adusuve™ Staccato® (loxapine) inhalation aerosol, 5 mg and 10 mg.

11 Oct 2010

FDA issues CRL for AZ-004 NDA application

Alexza Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that it has received a Complete Response Letter (CRL) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA or Agency) regarding its New Drug Application (NDA) for AZ-004 (Staccato loxapine), submitted as Adusuve Staccato (loxapine) inhalation aerosol, 5 mg and 10 mg.

11 Oct 2010

Takeda, Envoy enter three-year research alliance to develop schizophrenia drug

Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited, a global pharmaceutical company, and Envoy Therapeutics Inc., a recently formed drug discovery company, today announced that they have formed a three-year research alliance aimed at discovering drugs for schizophrenia that will have greater efficacy and safety compared to current therapies.

11 Oct 2010

Cortex secures patent rights for combined use of AMPAKINE and mGluR5 compounds for Fragile X syndrome treatment

Cortex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the rights to a published patent application entitled, "Pharmacological Modulation of Positive AMPA Receptor Modulator Effects on Neurotrophin Expression", has been licensed exclusively to Cortex from the University of California.

7 Oct 2010