--- title: "Psych News Alert: Brexpiprazole Found Safe, Effective for Patients With Schizophrenia, AJP Reports" description: New findings from a phase 3 clinical trial, published today in AJP in Advance , suggest that a recently developed antipsychotic may prove... image: https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_143531137-Jun-24-2025-04-40-23-3879-PM.jpg --- 4/17/15 12:00 AM # Brexpiprazole Found Safe, Effective for Patients With Schizophrenia, AJP Reports ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [ Psychiatric News Alert ](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) Share: [facebook-f icon ](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/04/brexpiprazole-found-safe-effective-for.html) [linkedin-in icon ](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/04/brexpiprazole-found-safe-effective-for.html) [Twitter icon ](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/04/brexpiprazole-found-safe-effective-for.html) [pinterest-p icon ](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/04/brexpiprazole-found-safe-effective-for.html) [envelope icon ](mailto:?body=https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/04/brexpiprazole-found-safe-effective-for.html) | ![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_143531137-Jun-24-2025-04-40-24-2420-PM.jpg?width=200&height=129&name=shutterstock_143531137-Jun-24-2025-04-40-24-2420-PM.jpg) | | | --- | --- | New findings from a phase 3 clinical trial, published today in [AJP in Advance](http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.14101275), suggest that a recently developed antipsychotic may prove to be one of the next treatments for schizophrenia. Researchers from the Department of Psychiatry at Hofstra North Shore-LIJ School of Medicine conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with 636 patients with schizophrenia to investigate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of brexpiprazole—a  serotonin-dopamine activity modulator that acts as a partial agonist at serotonin 5-HT1A receptors and dopamine D2 receptors, while antagonizing serotonin 5-HT2A receptors and noradrenaline alpha receptors.  The results showed that after six weeks of treatment, patients taking 2 mg and 4 mg of brexpiprazole had, respectively, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale scores approximately 9 and 8 points lower than that of the placebo group. Weight gain from baseline was found to be moderate among the active groups, with the 2 mg cohort gaining an average of 1.45 kg and the 4 mg cohort gaining 1.28 kg. The most common treatment-emergent adverse event reported for brexpiprazole was akathisia, at a rate of 4.4 percent in the 2 mg cohort and 7.2 percent in the 4 mg cohort. No clinically or statistically significant changes were observed from baseline in lipid and glucose levels and extrapyramidal symptom ratings. “Schizophrenia is a complicated disease, and while advances have been made, patients often still lack an effective treatment path,” the study’s lead author, Christoph Correll, M.D., a professor of psychiatry at Hofstra, told *Psychiatric News. *“It is important for clinicians and patients to have a range of treatment options to manage symptoms effectively and safely ... as response to therapy can vary greatly from individual to individual and from one medication to the next.” Correll informed *Psychiatric News* that the Food and Drug Administration will make its final decision about the approval of brexpiprazole for the treatment of schizophrenia as well as major depressive disorder in July. The research was funded by Otsuka Pharmaceuticals, the manufacturer of brexpiprazole. To read about the pipeline for psychotropic medications, see the *Psychiatric News* article “[Candidates, Innovation Missing From Psychotropic Drug Pipeline](http://psychnews.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/appi.pn.2014.11a2).” (Image: Vashchig/shutterstock.com) [schizophrenia](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/schizophrenia), [ajp in advance](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ajp-in-advance), [brexpiprazole](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/brexpiprazole) ## Related posts [schizophrenia](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/schizophrenia), [cardiometabolic risk](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/cardiometabolic-risk), [antipsychotic medication](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/antipsychotic-medication) ## [Patients With First-Episode Schizophrenia Disorders Show Greater Body Fat, Cardiovascular Risk, Study Finds](https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/01/patients-with-first-episode.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 1/2/15 12:00 AM The duration of psychiatric illness and treatment for patients after first-episode schizophrenia... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/01/patients-with-first-episode.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/iStock_000083965377_Medium-Jun-24-2025-06-15-12-7075-PM.jpg?height=200&name=iStock_000083965377_Medium-Jun-24-2025-06-15-12-7075-PM.jpg) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/03/alpha-7-agonist-found-to-improve.html) [schizophrenia](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/schizophrenia), [ajp in advance](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ajp-in-advance), [cognitive impairment](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/cognitive-impairment) ## [Alpha-7 Agonist Found to Improve Cognition in Non-Smoking Patients With Schizophrenia](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/03/alpha-7-agonist-found-to-improve.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 3/9/16 12:00 AM A study published in AJP in Advance suggests ABT-126—a selective alpha-7 (α7) nicotinic receptor... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/03/alpha-7-agonist-found-to-improve.html) [![](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/john_kane-Jun-24-2025-09-15-26-4347-PM.png?height=200&name=john_kane-Jun-24-2025-09-15-26-4347-PM.png) ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/12/expert-group-proposes-consensus.html) [ajp in advance](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/ajp-in-advance), [treatment-resistant schizophrenia](https://alert.psychnews.org/tag/treatment-resistant-schizophrenia) ## [Expert Group Proposes Consensus Criteria for Determining Treatment-Resistant Schizophrenia](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/12/expert-group-proposes-consensus.html) ![Picture of Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/hs-fs/hubfs/Psych%20News%20Email%20Banners/PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png?width=50&name=PN-Blue-Box_rgb.png) [Psychiatric News Alert](https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert) 12/6/16 12:00 AM An international group of experts has proposed consensus criteria for determining when... [ Read more ](https://alert.psychnews.org/2016/12/expert-group-proposes-consensus.html) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Psychiatric News Alert", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/author/psychiatric-news-alert" }, "dateModified" : "2025-06-24T16:43:22.154Z", "datePublished" : "2015-04-17T04:00:00.000Z", "headline" : "Psych News Alert: Brexpiprazole Found Safe, Effective for Patients With Schizophrenia, AJP Reports", "image" : [ "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/shutterstock_143531137-Jun-24-2025-04-40-23-3879-PM.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/2015/04/brexpiprazole-found-safe-effective-for.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://alert.psychnews.org/hubfs/PN-Blue-Box.jpg" } } } ```