Janssen schizophrenia drug ‘will help doctors customise treatment’

Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson company, has reported the availability of a new treatment option for schizophrenia patients with other conditions, including those with hepatic and renal impairment.

The company reports that the new formulation of Risperdal Consta (risperidone), produced by Alkermes and marketed by Jansenn, will facilitate the customisation of treatment of the condition.

Available in the US at the start of next month, the 12.5 mg dose is the smallest available measure of the compound, with approval of this formulation based on pharmacokinetic data, rather than the results of clinical trials.

Henry Nasrallah, professor of psychiatry and neuroscience and director of the schizophrenia research programme at the University of Cincinnati, said: “The 12.5 mg dose of Risperdal Consta will help clinicians to customise treatment for each patient, particularly those who have hepatic or renal impairment and need lower doses.”

He added that this formulation could also be appropriate for patients with low tolerability of psychotropic medications or those for whom the compound could interact with other drugs to increase the plasma concentrations of Risperdal Consta.

Last month, Jansenn-Cilag presented data at the annual meeting of the European Congress of Psychiatry showing an improvement in negative symptom severity in stable schizophrenia patients switched to long-acting injections of Risperdal Consta.