Head to Head Study Confirms Atypical Antipsychotic Efficacy Equivalence

AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands, October 22  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- - New data also demonstrate SEROQUEL tolerability benefits versus other atypicals in schizophrenia and reinforce therapeutic potential in bipolar disorder

Seroquel (quetiapine), olanzapine and risperidone are equally effective in patients experiencing first episode psychosis, according to data presented today during the Breaking News session* at the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) Congress.[1]

The CAFE (Comparison of Atypicals in First Episode Psychosis) study is the first to examine the comparative effectiveness of SEROQUEL, olanzapine and risperidone in first-episode psychosis patients, as measured by all-cause treatment discontinuation. At week 52, the all-cause treatment discontinuation rates were similar between medications (70.9 percent, 68.4 percent and 71.4 percent for SEROQUEL, olanzapine and risperidone, respectively). However, significantly more olanzapine patients (80 percent) experienced weight gain of seven percent or more relative to baseline, compared with 57.6 percent of risperidone and 50 percent of SEROQUEL patients (P=0.01 olanzapine vs SEROQUEL).

Commenting on the data, Professor Henry Nasrallah, Professor of Psychiatry, Neurology, & Neuroscience at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, USA said that the CAFE study shows the three atypicals had similar rates of discontinuation and similar secondary efficacy outcomes. "These data confirm that SEROQUEL, olanzapine and risperidone show equivalent efficacy in the treatment of first episode psychosis. In addition, they provide clinicians with further guidance on the optimal dosing for agents such as SEROQUEL in first episode treatment situations," Professor Nasrallah said.

The mean modal prescribed daily doses in CAFE were 506 mg for SEROQUEL, 11.7 mg for olanzapine and 2.4 mg for risperidone. However, Professor Nasrallah said it was important to remember that in chronic schizophrenia, patients generally need higher doses of medication and clinicians should explore the full dose ranges of medications.

The overall discontinuation rate observed among patients in this study reflects the complexities in treating people with schizophrenia, a severe mental illness which affects about one percent of people.

"The study reinforces the need for a variety of medications so that clinicians can find the best treatment option, with optimal risk benefit ratio, for each patient. It also highlights how important patient-physician communication is in maximizing treatment success," said Professor Nasrallah.

Other data presented at ECNP confirm that SEROQUEL (final mean dose 709.8 mg) and risperidone (final mean dose 8.1 mg per day) are equally effective in the acute management of schizophrenia, however SEROQUEL offers tolerability benefits.[2] The results of the acute phase of the TESIS study (Tolerability and Effectiveness of Seroquel In Patients with Schizophrenia)* show that patients responded similarly to both medications: 66.3 percent of SEROQUEL and 57.1 percent of risperidone patients showed at least 40 percent improvement of Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores. More patients experienced extrapyramidal side-effects (inability to control muscle movements) with risperidone than with quetiapine: rigidity (25.7 percent vs 3.8 pecent, P