New medication for the treatment of schizophrenia
30 September 2024
Professor Arthur Christopoulos speaks about the FDA approval of a new medicine for schizophrenia
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US has approved a new medication for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults.
Cobenfy (previously known as KarXT) is a combination of two medicines – xanomeline, a dual M1- and M4-preferring muscarinic receptor agonist, and trospium chloride, a muscarinic receptor antagonist that improves the negative and cognitive symptoms of schizophrenia while minimising side effects.
Professor Arthur Christopoulos, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Monash University explains, “this is a game changer as it is the first new drug with a truly different mechanism of action to treat schizophrenia in at least 30 years.” For many years, Arthur and his colleagues at Monash University have contributed to the science underpinning this breakthrough.
Schizophrenia affects 1 in 100 Australians so the hope is that Cobenfy will be registered here in Australia in the not-too-distant future.