Three Head-to-Head Studies Demonstrate That Zyprexa Delays Relapse in Patients with Schizophrenia Significantly Longer Than Othe

Three Head-to-Head Studies Demonstrate That Zyprexa Delays Relapse in Patients
with Schizophrenia Significantly Longer Than Other Competitors in Its Class
Additional Evidence that Efficacy of Atypical Antipsychotics is Not Equal 


INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 11/PRNewswire/ -- New data presented today at a major
schizophrenia conference in Switzerland demonstrate that Zyprexa(R) (olanzapine)
delays relapse significantly longer in patients with schizophrenia than other
atypical antipsychotics, Eli Lilly and Company announced.  The data resulted
from three double-blind randomized clinical trials comparing Zyprexa with
Risperdal(R) (risperidone), Seroquel(R) (quetiapine) and Geodon(R) (ziprasidone)
for efficacy in treating patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Relapse, a reemergence of psychotic symptoms, can be devastating, leading to
functional, social and physiological decline over the lifetime of the
patient(1).  A large review of the literature indicated that 42 percent of
patients with schizophreniarelapsed over the course of a year.  For patients
who discontinued antipsychotic therapy, relapse was an almost certainty at one
year(2).  Additionally, some studies have found that patients on continuous drug
therapy have less change in their brain structure than those patients not on
medication(3).

"For patients with schizophrenia, there is a high risk of relapse, but the
frequency and severity of its effects can be managed," said Jeffery Lieberman,
M.D., Vice Chairman of Psychiatry, Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology,
University of North Carolina School of Medicine.  "In order for physicians to
help patients attain stability and realize individual potential, an effective
treatment must delay the recurrence of relapse and promote treatmentadherence. 
Based on these trials, olanzapine is shown to be a promising choice to achieve
both treatment goals."

Study Details

Post-hoc analyses were conducted on three randomized, double-blind studies
comparing Zyprexa to risperidone for 28 weeks, to ziprasidone for 28 weeks, and
to quetiapine for 24 weeks.

The analyses looked at those patients who had improved by 20 percent or 30
percent in the total Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-total) score
after 8 weeks.  The PANSS is used in clinical trials to rate symptoms in
schizophrenia such as hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thought and lack
of motivation.  Relapse was then defined for those patients between 8 weeks and
the end of the study as a 20 percent or 30 percent worsening in PANSS- total
scores and a Clinical Global Impressions Severity of Illness (CGI severity)
score >= 3.  Four levels of response/relapse comparisons (20/20, 20/30, 30/20,
30/30) were made for each treatment pair.

Over the course of each trial, Zyprexa-treated patients relapsed significantly
less than patients treated with risperidone, quetiapine and ziprasidone across
all four levels of response and relapse (p-values