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The DSM-5, the latest edition of the gold-standard diagnostic guidelines in psychiatry throughout the world, is due to be unveiled in May 2013. Given the huge size of the psychiatry drug market, any changes made to the diagnoses of conditions such as depression, bipolar disorders, and schizophrenia - however slight - will be of great interest to the pharmaceutical industry...more >>
Forest and Gedeon's cariprazine is a pharmacologically unique atypical antipsychotic in Phase III development for both schizophrenia and bipolar mania. Data presented at APA 2012 hint that while cariprazine appears to be effective in both indications, its tolerability and failure to address the broader bipolar depression patient population will hinder uptake...more >>
Lorqess has moved one step closer to approval for the treatment of obesity following a positive review by the FDA advisory committee. The result came as a surprise to some, after the drug was rejected in 2010 due to safety concerns. Despite the good news for Arena Pharmaceuticals, the drug's commercial prospects remain uncertain: the path to launch is unclear, and uptake may be slow...more >>
Pooled data released at the APA 2012 suggest that Forest's Viibryd combines a fast onset of antidepressant activity with a favorable side-effect profile, satisfying two important unmet needs in depression pharmacotherapy. Conversely, results from the Phase III program for levomilnacipran are less impressive, suggesting that the drug offers little benefit over other drugs in its class...more >>