Forest Laboratories ($FRX) and Gedeon Richter have fresh cause to celebrate their experimental antipsychotic cariprazine. Just days after posting positive late-stage data for bipolar patients, the partners announced that their two Phase III studies for schizophrenia had both turned up promising results. And the executives quickly trumpeted plans for a pair of new drug applications.
Investigators studied the drug--an oral dopamine D3-preferring D3/D2 receptor partial agonist--in both fixed and flex doses, with one study comparing its effect to Bristol-Myers Squibb's ($BMY) Abilify.
"By successfully meeting the primary endpoint in each of these studies, we now have three positive schizophrenia trials and three positive bipolar mania trials," said Dr. Marco Taglietti, president of the Forest Research Institute. "We look forward to filing the NDA for both indications in 2012."
At least one analyst Bloomberg tracked down has high hopes for cariprazine. "This drug has blockbuster potential and could be a game changer for Richter in the long run," UniCredit's Adriana Marin told the business news wire.
- here's the press release
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