Study Examines Use of Antipsychotic Medications for Schizophrenia Treatment

Main Category: Schizophrenia
Article Date: 21 Sep 2005 - 12:00 PDT

email to a friend   printer friendly   opinions  

Results in the New England Journal of Medicine from a National Institute of Mental Health-funded study compared the use of atypical antipsychotic medications, including SEROQUEL® (quetiapine fumarate), and a first generation antipsychotic medication for the treatment of schizophrenia. The study, titled Clinical Antipsychotic Trials of Intervention Effectiveness-Schizophrenia (CATIE-SZ), was a randomized, controlled study of 1493 patients with schizophrenia, and was designed to reflect a clinical setting in order to generate results that would inform clinical practice. The findings represent the first of many anticipated study reports of this multi-phase study.

AstraZeneca appreciates the value CATIE-SZ adds to the body of evidence evaluating antipsychotic medication in schizophrenia. The study points to the importance of considering the risk-benefit balance in the choice of an antipsychotic. The balance of efficacy and tolerability that SEROQUEL provides makes it an ideal choice for the first line treatment of schizophrenia.

A key finding of CATIE-SZ was the high discontinuation rate (74 per cent) observed among study patients, which highlights the complexities in treating individuals with schizophrenia. The most common reason for discontinuation was the patient's independent decision to stop treatment. These findings support the importance of patient-physician communication in maximizing treatment success.

This first phase of CATIE-SZ results also suggest that dose is a critical component of successful treatment. Patients suffering from schizophrenia are unique and respond to different drugs in different ways. This underscores the need to explore the full, approved dose range of medications such as SEROQUEL to achieve optimal benefit, and for multiple treatment options to be available.

The CATIE data also needs to be examined in the context of the existing large body of clinical evidence surrounding the medications studied:

The recent CAFE (Comparison of Atypicals in First Episode Psychosis) effectiveness study of almost 400 patients, with a similar protocol to phase 1 of CATIE-SZ, shows comparable effectiveness, as measured by all-cause treatment discontinuation, in first episode psychosis for SEROQUEL, olanzapine and risperidone at mean modal doses of 506 mg, 11.7 mg and 2.4 mg, respectively - all doses that are within the FDA-approved dosing range. The study included first-episode patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizophreniform, or schizoaffective disorder.

SEROQUEL is the number one prescribed atypical in the United States and has a well-established safety and efficacy profile. It is the only first line atypical with an extrapyramidal symptom (EPS) profile, including akathisia, and levels of prolactin that are no different from placebo across the dose range. SEROQUEL has been licensed for the treatment of schizophrenia since 1997 and is available in 85 countries for the treatment of this condition. SEROQUEL is also licensed in 73 countries for the treatment of mania associated with bipolar disorder, including the US, Canada and several European countries. To date, more than 13 million people have been treated with SEROQUEL worldwide.

For further Information:

Media Enquiries:
Edel McCaffrey, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5034
Steve Brown, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5033

Investor Enquiries:
Mina Blair, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5084
Jonathan Hunt, Tel: +44 (0) 207 304 5087
Ed Seage, Tel: +1 302 886 4065
Jorgen Winroth, Tel + 1 212 579 0506

http://www.astrazeneca.com

• Additional
• References
• Citations