Valbenazine: Drug review

Valbenazine is the first drug approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adults with tardive dyskinesia (TD) on April 11, 2017. It acts as a reversible inhibitor of vesicular monoamine transporter 2. It is available orally with a starting dose of 40 mg once daily which can be increased after 1 week to the recommended dose of 80 mg. Clinical trials showed positive outcomes in Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale and Clinical Global Impression - Global Improvement of TD score with respect to placebo. Valbenazine has an acceptable safety and tolerability profile, the most common side effect observed is somnolence. However, long-term study is lacking, and more data are required to establish its full benefits and concomitant risks which can be missed in the recent trials.