Aripiprazole 2-month ready-to-use 960 mg (Ari 2MRTU 960) is a new long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic formulation for gluteal administration every 2 months. This 32-week trial evaluated the safety, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of multiple-dose administration of Ari 2MRTU 960 in clinically stable adults with schizophrenia or bipolar I disorder (BP-I), versus that of aripiprazole once-monthly 400 mg (AOM 400; an LAI indicated for the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adult patients stabilized with oral aripiprazole [indication varies by country]). Safety and efficacy outcomes in the subpopulation of patients with schizophrenia are reported here.

Patients with schizophrenia were randomized to receive Ari 2MRTU 960 every 56±2 days or AOM 400 every 28±2 days. Safety and tolerability assessments included adverse event (AE) reporting, Visual Analogue Scale [VAS] scores (scale range: 0–100) for patient-reported injection site pain, and extrapyramidal symptom (EPS) monitoring. Efficacy was evaluated at Week 32 using mean (standard deviation [SD]) Clinical Global Impression – Improvement (CGI-I) score, and mean (SD) change from baseline in Clinical Global Impression – Severity (CGI-S) score, Subjective Well-being under Neuroleptic Treatment – Short Form [SWN-S] Total score, and Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) Total score.

Study completion rate was 79.3% (73/92 patients) in the Ari 2MRTU 960 group and 67.7% (63/93 patients) in the AOM 400 group. Demographics and disease characteristics were well balanced between groups at baseline (mean [SD] PANSS Total score: Ari 2MRTU 960, 62.0 [13.5]; AOM 400, 61.8 [13.5]; mean (SD) CGI-S score: Ari 2MRTU 960, 3.3 [0.9]; AOM 400, 3.1 [0.9]). Treatment-emergent AE (TEAE) incidence was 66.3% with Ari 2MRTU 960 and 63.4% with AOM 400. The most frequent TEAEs were increased weight (Ari 2MRTU 960, 21.7%; AOM 400, 18.3%) and injection site pain (Ari 2MRTU 960, 15.2%; AOM 400, 9.7%). Mean (SD) VAS score for pain after last injection was 1.5 (4.58) with Ari 2MRTU 960 and 1.3 (2.79) with AOM 400. Minimal change was seen in EPS in either group. At Week 32, mean (SD) CGI-I score was similar between groups (Ari 2MRTU 960, 3.5 [1.0]; AOM 400, 3.6 [0.9]). Minimal change from baseline was seen at Week 32 in CGI-S score and SWN-S Total score. There was no clinically meaningful difference between the groups for PANSS Total score (difference of least squares mean change from baseline [95% confidence interval]: -0.9 [-3.5, 1.8]; p=0.5154).

In patients with schizophrenia, administration of Ari 2MRTU 960, as compared with AOM 400, was generally well tolerated, and clinical stability was maintained during the study.

Otsuka Pharmaceutical Development & Commercialization, Inc. (Princeton, NJ, USA) and H. Lundbeck A/S (Valby, Denmark).