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Hungarian drug maker Richter Gedeon Nyrt. (RICHTER.BU) and Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) announced positive drug test results on cariprazine Thursday in a stock exchange filing.

"The results strengthen our commitment to conduct original research in the field of central nervous system disorders, where our team has excellent expertise," the release cited Erik Bogsch, chief executive of Richter as saying.

Based on the data - still subject to a complete review of the full results - and the previously announced Phase II results in patients suffering from acute mania associated with bipolar I disorder, the companies intend to initiate Phase 3 trials for both indications in early 2010. "Our strategy to invest in promising product opportunities ... continues to bear fruit and we are looking forward to advancing to the late-stage cariprazine development program," the release cited Howard Solomon, Chairman and Chief Executive of Forest Laboratories as saying.

The companies announced top-line results from a Phase IIb clinical trial of the novel, investigational antipsychotic agent cariprazine for the treatment of acute exacerbation of schizophrenia.

PANSS, or Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale, data indicated that patients with schizophrenia treated with cariprazine experienced significant symptom improvement compared to placebo patients within the first week of treatment and at each subsequent time point studied.

Cariprazine is currently also undergoing Phase II clinical trials in patients with Bipolar Depressive Disorder and as adjunctive therapy in Major Depressive Disorder.

Discovered by researchers at Richter and licensed in the United States and Canada by Forest Laboratories in 2004, cariprazine is an orally active D3/D2 partial agonist with preferential binding to D3 receptors.

Richter Web site: www.richter.hu