New drug for schizophrenia has experts excited

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Experts expressed enthusiasm on Friday, September 27, 2024, after United States health regulators approved the first new form of treatment for schizophrenia in decades.

The drug, called Cobenfy and developed by U.S. pharma giant Bristol Myers Squibb, works differently from existing treatments, targeting the so-called cholinergic receptors, not the dopamine receptors.

“This drug takes the first new approach to schizophrenia treatment in decades,” Tiffany Farchione, a top official in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said in a statement Thursday, September 26.

“This approval offers a new alternative to the antipsychotic medications people with schizophrenia have previously been prescribed,” she said.

Schizophrenia affects only some one percent of Americans, but its effects can be devastating. It can cause hallucinations, feelings of persecution and difficulty in controlling one’s thoughts. About five percent of diagnosed schizophrenics die by suicide.

Lynsey Bilsland, who heads the mental health division of the Wellcome charitable foundation, said Cobenfy could be “game-changing, especially for those for whom other drugs do not work.” She added: “It works in a completely different way from any other currently used schizophrenia drugs. It has the potential to change the lives of millions of people.”

Cobenfy — its scientific name is “xanomeline and trospium chloride” — is taken orally. Two clinical trials confirmed its effectiveness, showing it can significantly reduce patients’ symptoms. Side effects include nausea, vomiting, indigestion, diarrhea, constipation, urinary retention and liver problems.

But compared to current drugs, those side effects are “reduced,” said Matt Jones, a professor of neuroscience at the University of Bristol in England. “It’s obviously great news for people living with schizophrenia,” he said, while noting that the drug has yet to receive approval in Britain.

Sameer Jauhar, a senior clinical lecturer in affective disorders and psychosis at King’s College in London, said the side effects of current medications — including weight gain and sluggishness — can deter some people from following through with treatment.

He said he wants to see the results of longer-term trials, but added that the positive results so far amount to “possibly one of the most exciting developments in our field, and I am very excited about this.”