Johnson and Johnson reports study showing Risperidone to delay relapse time for bipolar patients

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) has reported a new study suggesting that Risperidone long-acting injection (RLAI), when combined with standard treatment, helps delay time to initial relapse in patients with bipolar disorder.

Presented at the 14th Biennial Winter Workshop on Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorders in Monteux in Switzerland, the study forms part of a phase III trial that explores the use of RLAI in the maintenance of treatment of frequently-relapsing bipolar disorder.

The study compared the time to relapse, also known as the next mood episode, in the RLAI and standard treatment compared to standard treatment and placebo.

Patients receiving RLAI had a significant delay in time to relapse with a relapse rate of 22.2 per cent compared with 47.8 per cent for placebo.

Dr Joseph Calabrese, co-director of the Bipolar Disorders Research Center at Case Western Reserve University, commented: “Patients with frequently relapsing bipolar disorder require more healthcare interventions than patients with fewer episodes and there is a huge unmet need for new treatments.”

RLAI is marketed by Janssen, a division of Ortho-McNeil Janssen Pharmaceuticals – itself a subsidiary of J&J.

Last month, Catalyst Biosciences announced that it had signed a collaboration agreement with Centocor Research & Development, a J&J company, for the discovery and development of engineered protease therapeutics.