extension study evaluating the safety and tolerability of flexible doses of oral ziprasidone in children and adolescents with bipolar i disorder

Conditions: Bipolar Disorder

Summary: this 26-week open-label extension study is designed to provide information on the safety and tolerability of oral ziprasidone (20-80 mg bid (twice daily) with meals) during long-term administration in children and adolescents with bipolar i disorder (current or most recent episode manic).

study a1281201 is a 6 month, open label extension study of the ongoing double blind, randomized, placebo controlled study of ziprasidone in pediatric bipolar disorder (study a1281198). study a1281201 will enroll adolescents aged 10 to 17 years with bipolar i disorder who have participated in double blind study a1281198. in order to be enrolled in this open label extension trial, subjects must have met the enrollment criteria for study a1281198, and must meet the inclusion and exclusion criteria for study a1281201 at the extension study baseline visit (last visit in the double blind study). the purpose of adding this extension study to the ongoing geodon pediatric bipolar program is to obtain additional longer term safety data in children and adolescents with bipolar i disorder treated with ziprasidone.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria * evidence of personally signed and dated informed consent document by the legal representative and an assent document by the subject . * subjects and their legal guardians who are willing and able to comply with scheduled visits, treatment plan, laboratory tests, and other study procedures. * the subjects must have received investigational product in study a1281198 before entering this open label extension. * in the investigator's opinion, the subject must be likely to benefit from antipsychotic therapy . * all fertile male subjects and female subjects of childbearing potential who are sexually active and/or their legal guardians, as appropriate, must agree that a highly effective method of contraception exclusion criteria * any subjects from the preceding double blind trail who experienced a serious adverse event which required study medication to be discontinued and the subject to be withdrawn from the study. subjects who experienced cardiac arrhythmias, conduction abnormalities, or qtc prolongation (confirmed and persistent fridericia's correction (qtcf) \>480 msec or increase from baseline qtcf \>60 msec) during the preceding study. * subjects requiring any medications not allowed by the concomitant medication table 12 (see "concomitant treatment(s)"). * subjects who require treatment with drugs that are known to consistently prolong the qt interval (see concomitant medication table 12). * subjects who are judged by the investigator as being at imminent risk of suicide. * subjects living in the same home as another study participant or having the same caregiver during the same enrollment period (such subjects can be enrolled in the study at different times but may not be in the study at the same time). * subjects should be excluded or a risk assessment should be done to verify that it is safe for the subject to participate in the trial if the subject's responses on the c ssrs or other information based on the investigator's judgment indicate: * suicide ideation associated with actual intent and a method or plan such that a positive response ('yes') is made on items 4 or 5 of the suicidal ideation subscale of the c ssrs; or * any suicide behaviors such that a determination of 'yes' is made to any of the suicide behavior items of the c ssrs. * pregnant female subjects, breastfeeding female subjects. * participation in other studies other than the preceding study. * other acute or chronic medical or psychiatric condition including recent (within the past year) or active suicidal ideation or behavior or laboratory abnormality that may increase the risk associated with study participation or investigational product administration or may interfere with the interpretation of study results and, in the judgment of the investigator, would make the subject inappropriate for entry into this study.