Currently, drugs such as haloperidol are used first. The new drug will be marketed at a price lower than clozapine, but will cost more than haloperidol, Dr. Jones said. The new drug has been tested on close to 3,000 schizophrenia patients around the world, mostly for acute treatment of the disorder. A few hundred patients have been on the drug for two to four years, and so far the safety profile looks good, he said. Many studies have been for dosing and safety, as well as placebo-controlled trials.
Further studies comparing the drug to other ones currently used are in the works.
Patients who have, or who are at risk for, liver disease should undergo testing if they are put on the drug, he said.