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In this article we investigate the post-launch retail prescription trends of asenapine (Saphris®, Merck and Co.) and iloperidone (Fanapt®, Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc./Novartis), two new atypical antipsychotics to launch in the United States market in October 2009 and January 2010, respectively. In the first 12 months following the asenapine launch, and in the nine months since the iloperidone launch, asenapine and iloperidone have secured 0.22 and 0.10 percent of the total prescription market; however, both products nearly double those respective shares when total prescriptions are isolated to new patient prescriptions (0.44% for asenapine and 0.17% for iloperidone). Since launch, asenapine has shown stronger signs of growth, largely attributed to its approval in multiple indications as compared to iloperidone's single indication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, the authors explore trends in intended usage of atypical antipsychotics to treat dementia following the United States Food and Drug Administration advisory safety warning issued in April 2005. Analysis suggests that physician-reported intended usage of antipsychotics to treat dementia has declined by nearly 50 percent over the past five years. When reviewing the products intended for use in the treatment of patients with dementia, atypical intended usage has declined considerably while the intended usage of anti-Alzheimer's disease treatments has grown to replace those shares. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate the range of treatments prescribed for bipolar disorder. Our analysis shows that, while a large portion of patients is treated by a single mechanism of action (44%), an equally sizable group of patients receives two or more drug classes (56%) to treat the disorder. From a therapeutic class perspective, 71 percent of patients with bipolar disorder receive an atypical antipsychotic, 53 percent receive a mood stabilizer, and 30 percent receive an antidepressant. While antipsychotics and mood stabilizers represent the vast majority of bipolar disorder monotherapy (90%), antidepressants are more commonly seen as part of a combination treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore the current state of the psychiatry drug development pipeline. Analysis suggests that overall, the psychiatry pipeline is heavily skewed toward a few major indications and tends to have more programs in early development (Phase I and II) than later stages (Phase III). A review of development sponsors shows a fairly even split of programs between Top 50 Pharmaceutical companies and small to mid-sized biopharmaceutical companies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we explore the accelerated penetration of generic antidepressants in the United States market following the availability of generic citalopram and sertraline. Analysis suggests that overall, generic penetration into the antidepressant market has grown from approximately 41 percent in January 2004 to over 73 percent in January 2010. Similar trends are uncovered when branded and generic prescriptions are analyzed by specialty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]