Investigational Agent Targeting Metabotropic Glutamate 2/3 Receptors Demonstrates Antipsychotic Activity in Humans, Study in Nature Medi...( New approach for trea...),Health

New approach for treatment of schizophrenia

INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- An investigational, phase II study published in the scientific journal Nature Medicine demonstrates that for the first time in humans a drug that acts on certain proteins in the brain called mGlu2/3 has antipsychotic activity. The study was sponsored by Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE: LLY).

In this study - a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial - patients were assigned to four weeks of treatment with either Lilly's investigational compound LY2140023; olanzapine, an atypical antipsychotic medication that targets dopamine and serotonin receptors as an active control; or placebo. The study demonstrated that:

-- LY2140023 and olanzapine showed statistically significant improvement

versus placebo in PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale), the

most common scale used for measuring symptoms of patients with

schizophrenia. Both groups showed a rapid response, within one week.

-- Treatment with LY2140023 was not observed to have certain adverse

events that often occur with currently approved schizophrenia

medications, including increased prolactin elevations, extrapyramidal

symptoms (involuntary movements or muscle stiffness), or weight gain.

-- Overall, LY2140023 40 mg given twice daily was found to be safe and

well-tolerated, with most adverse events being mild-to-moderate in

severity and not treatment-limiting.

"These data provide compelling new evidence that mGlu2/3 receptor agonists have antipsychotic properties and may provide a completely new therapeutic approach for treating schizophren
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