Treatment for manic episodes, reapproved. Gabriel Diaconu: It is not a revolutionary treatment. We don’t have it in Europe. We have something else, but it does pretty much the same thing

The FDA has approved Vanda Pharmaceuticals’ drug to treat manic and mixed episodes associated with a type of bipolar disorder, the company announced Tuesday, marking its second approval for the treatment. Shares of the Washington, DC-based company rose 16% after the market closed, reports Reuters.

Manic episodes, complex disorders

Manic episodes and mixed episodes are defining moments of bipolar disorder, which is a mental condition that profoundly affects a person’s emotional state.

Manic episodes are periods when someone feels very energetic and excited. At these times, people can be extremely talkative, have quick ideas, and feel like they can do anything. They may also have a sense of little need for sleep and take more risks than usual, such as spending too much money or engaging in dangerous activities.

Mixed episodes are times when a person’s emotions are a strange mix of sadness, agitation, and excessive energy. In a mixed episode, a person may feel agitated and restless, but also sad and tired. It’s a combination of feelings that can be very confusing and difficult to manage.

Bipolar disorder is a serious and highly prevalent chronic mental illness affecting approximately 2.8% of the US adult population, 83% of whom are classified as severe.

Bipolar disorder is a group of conditions characterized by periods of elevated mood alternating with periods of depressed mood. For the diagnosis of bipolar I disorder, individuals must have experienced one or more episodes of mania, and most would have episodes of both mania and depression.

Patients with bipolar I disorder with manic or mixed episodes are a subset of the approximately 10 million Americans with bipolar disorder.

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How the treatment works

Dr. Gabriel Diaconu, psychiatrist specialist, explained exclusively for DC MEDICAL, what it is actually about.

“Vanda is the “parent” company. The drug is iloperidone, it is an antipsychotic in the risperidone class. It is a drug that selectively blocks certain serotonin and dopamine receptors. Iloperidone and paliperidone have been on the market for several years. They are considered to be effective It is not a “ground breaking treatment” (revolutionary treatment – no).

It is a success of the company. The patent for iloperidone expires in 2027. It was approved in 2009. So the company got re-approval to put it on the market, but iloperidone was on the market. I did not prescribe it in Europe. Here we have paliperidone, which does almost the same thing,” explained Dr. Gabriel Diaconu, Psychiatry specialist, exclusively for DC MEDICAL.

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