Vraylar approved for treatment of adults with schizophrenia

Allergan plc announced that the FDA has approved the supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for Vraylar (cariprazine) for the maintenance treatment of adults with schizophrenia. Vraylar is also approved in the U.S. in adults for the acute treatment of schizophrenia and acute treatment of manic or mixed episodes of bipolar I disorder.

The efficacy of Vraylar in the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia was based on an up to 72-week, multinational, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized withdrawal study in the prevention of relapse in adult patients with schizophrenia. The study included a 20-week open-label phase where patients with schizophrenia were treated with cariprazine 3, 6 or 9 mg per day. Patients who responded and met the stabilization criteria during the open-label period were then randomized either to continue their Vraylar dose (3, 6 or 9 mg per day) or be switched to placebo for up to 72 weeks or until a relapse occurred. The primary endpoint was time to relapse during the randomized, double blind phase. The study demonstrated that Vraylar significantly delayed the time to relapse compared to placebo (P=0.0010). Relapse occurred in nearly twice as many placebo-treated patients (49.5%, n=49/99) as Vraylar-treated (29.7%, n=30/101) patients. The safety results were consistent with the profile observed to-date forVraylar.