Sunovion Pharmaceuticals has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for Latuda (lurasidone HCl) tablets to treat schizophrenia in adults.
Four controlled studies involving adults with schizophrenia showed that patients treated with Latuda had fewer symptoms compared to those treated with a placebo.
The most common adverse events reported during the trial were feelings of restlessness, drowsiness, nausea, an urge to move and movement-related abnormalities, such as slow movement, tremors, agitation and muscle stiffness.
Latuda has been included in the atypical antipsychotic class of drugs, which contain a boxed warning alerting the prescribers that these drugs are associated with increased risk of death if they are used for the treatment of behavioural problems in older people with dementia-related psychosis.
