Efficacy and Safety of Iloperidone in Bipolar Mania: A Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study.

Objective: To determine if iloperidone, a second-generation antipsychotic, reduces symptoms of bipolar mania.Methods: This phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted in adults with bipolar mania at 27 US and international sites between April 2021 and September 2022. Participants were randomized 1:1 to iloperidone (up to 24 mg/d given twice daily) or placebo for 4 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint was change from baseline to week 4 in Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) total score versus placebo. Secondary efficacy endpoints included change from baseline in the Clinical Global Impressions-Severity and Clinical Global Impression of Change scales.Results: Altogether, 414 participants were randomized and administered at least 1 dose of study medication (iloperidone, n = 206; placebo, n = 208). Overall, 139 (67.1%) iloperidone patients and 153 (72.9%) placebo patients completed the study. Iloperidone demonstrated significant improvement versus placebo at week 4 for the primary and secondary endpoints. Differences in the least-squares mean (95% CI; P value) of change from baseline for YMRS total scores were -4.0 (-5.70 to -2.25; adjusted P = .000008). The most encountered adverse events with iloperidone were tachycardia, dizziness, dry mouth, alanine aminotransferase increased, nasal congestion, increased weight, and somnolence. The incidence of akathisia and extrapyramidal symptom-related treatment-emergent adverse events was low.Conclusions: Iloperidone is effective in treating patients with bipolar mania. The tolerability and safety profile of iloperidone in bipolar mania is consistent with previous clinical studies of patients with schizophrenia, and no new safety concerns were identified.Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04819776; EudraCT: 2020-000405-83.

Simulated driving performance in healthy adults after night-time administration of 20 mg tasimelteon.

An impairment in next day driving performance has been reported for almost every drug currently United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for improvement of sleep in chronic and transient insomnia. Tasimelteon, a melatonin receptor agonist, demonstrated significant improvements in night-time sleep, daytime naps, and sleep timing in non-24-hr sleep-wake disorder (Non-24) by entraining these patients to a 24-hr day as measured by melatonin and cortisol rhythms. Given this new mechanism of action of entraining the biological clock, we conducted a study to evaluate the potential effect tasimelteon may have on the ability to operate a motor vehicle. The study was conducted in 48 healthy adult subjects using a randomised, double-blind, placebo and active (zopiclone 7.5 mg) controlled study with a 3-period cross-over design. Driving performance was assessed by measuring standard deviation of lateral position (SDLP) using the validated Cognitive Research Corporation Driving Simulator-MiniSim. The difference in least square mean SDLP for tasimelteon was 1.22 cm reflecting a non-significant increase in SDLP change from placebo (p = .1119). In contrast, treatment with the active control, zopiclone 7.5 mg, was associated with a meaningful and significant increase in SDLP, change from placebo for zopiclone was 4.14 cm (p < .0001). The lack of clinically meaningful and statistically significant finding with tasimelteon was further supported by the symmetry analysis, which showed the distribution of within-subject differences between tasimelteon and placebo was symmetric about zero. At the FDA-approved 20 mg dose to treat Non-24, tasimelteon did not impair next-day driving performance compared to placebo in adult healthy volunteers.

Tasimelteon for non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder in totally blind people (SET and RESET): two multicentre, randomised, double-masked, placebo-controlled phase 3 trials.

BACKGROUND: Most totally blind people have non-24-hour sleep-wake disorder (non-24), a rare circadian rhythm disorder caused by an inability of light to reset their circadian pacemaker. In two consecutive placebo-controlled trials (SET and RESET), we assessed safety and efficacy (in terms of circadian entrainment and maintenance) of once-daily tasimelteon, a novel dual-melatonin receptor agonist. METHODS: We undertook the placebo-controlled, randomised, double-masked trials in 27 US and six German clinical research centres and sleep centres. We screened totally blind adults (18-75 years of age), who were eligible for the randomisation phase of SET if they had a non-24-hour circadian period (τ) of 24·25 h or longer (95% CI greater than 24·0 and up to 24·9 h), as calculated from measurements of urinary 6-sulphatoxymelatonin rhythms. For SET, we used block randomisation to assign patients (1:1) to receive tasimelteon (20 mg) or placebo every 24 h at a fixed clock time 1 h before target bedtime for 26 weeks. Patients who entered the open-label group receiving tasimelteon in SET or who did not meet the SET inclusion criteria but did meet the RESET inclusion criteria were screened for RESET. A subset of the patients who entered the open-label group before the RESET study and who had eligible τ values were screened for RESET after completing the open-label treatment. In RESET, we withdrew tasimelteon in a randomised manner (1:1) in patients who responded (ie, entrained) after a tasimelteon run-in period. Entrainment was defined as having τ of 24·1 h or less and a 95% CI that included 24·0 h. In SET, the primary endpoint was the proportion of entrained patients, assessed in the intention-to-treat population. The planned step-down primary endpoint assessed the proportion of patients who had a clinical response (entrainment at month 1 or month 7 plus clinical improvement, measured by the Non-24 Clinical Response Scale). In RESET, the primary endpoint was the proportion of non-entrained patients, assessed in the intention-to-treat population. Safety assessments included adverse events and clinical laboratory measures, assessed in all treated patients. These trials are registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, numbers NCT01163032 and NCT01430754. FINDINGS: Between Aug 25, 2010, and July 5, 2012, we screened 391 totally blind patients for SET, of whom 84 (22%) were assigned to receive tasimelteon (n=42) or placebo (n=42). Two patients in the tasimelteon group and four in the placebo group discontinued the study before τ was measured, due to adverse events, withdrawal of consent, and a protocol deviation. Circadian entrainment occurred in eight (20%) of 40 patients in the tasimelteon group compared with one (3%) of 38 patients in the placebo group at month 1 (difference 17%, 95% CI 3·2-31·6; p=0·0171). Nine (24%) of 38 patients showed a clinical response, compared with none of 34 in the placebo group (difference 24%, 95% CI 8·4-39·0; p=0·0028). Between Sept 15, 2011, and Oct 4, 2012, we screened 58 patients for eligibility in RESET, 48 (83%) of whom had τ assessed and entered the open-label tasimelteon run-in phase. 24 (50%) patients entrained, and 20 (34%) were enrolled in the randomisation phase. Two (20%) of ten patients who were withdrawn to placebo remained entrained compared with nine (90%) of ten who continued to receive tasimelteon (difference 70%, 95% CI 26·4-100·0; p=0·0026). No deaths were reported in either study, and discontinuation rates due to adverse events were comparable between the tasimelteon (3 [6%] of 52 patients) and placebo (2 [4%] of 52 patients) treatment courses. The most common side-effects associated with tasimelteon in SET were headache (7 [17%] of 42 patients given tasimelteon vs 3 [7%] of 42 patients given placebo), elevated liver enzymes (4 [10%] vs 2 [5%]), nightmares or abnormal dreams (4 [10%] vs none), upper respiratory tract infection (3 [7%] vs none], and urinary tract infections (3 [7%] vs 1 [2%]). INTERPRETATION: Once-daily tasimelteon can entrain totally blind people with non-24; however, continued tasimelteon treatment is necessary to maintain these improvements. FUNDING: Vanda Pharmaceuticals.

Clinical assessment of drug-drug interactions of tasimelteon, a novel dual melatonin receptor agonist.

Tasimelteon ([1R-trans]-N-[(2-[2,3-dihydro-4-benzofuranyl] cyclopropyl) methyl] propanamide), a novel dual melatonin receptor agonist that demonstrates specificity and high affinity for melatonin receptor types 1 and 2 (MT1 and MT2 receptors), is the first treatment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder. Tasimelteon is rapidly absorbed, with a mean absolute bioavailability of approximately 38%, and is extensively metabolized primarily by oxidation at multiple sites, mainly by cytochrome P450 (CYP) 1A2 and CYP3A4/5, as initially demonstrated by in vitro studies and confirmed by the results of clinical drug-drug interactions presented here. The effects of strong inhibitors and moderate or strong inducers of CYP1A2 and CYP3A4/5 on the pharmacokinetics of tasimelteon were evaluated in humans. Coadministration with fluvoxamine resulted in an approximately 6.5-fold increase in tasimelteon's area under the curve (AUC), whereas cigarette smoking decreased tasimelteon's exposure by approximately 40%. Coadministration with ketoconazole resulted in an approximately 54% increase in tasimelteon's AUC, whereas rifampin pretreatment resulted in a decrease in tasimelteon's exposure of approximately 89%.

Absolute Bioavailability of Tasimelteon.

Tasimelteon is a novel dual melatonin receptor agonist and is the first treatment approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder. This study was conducted to assess the absolute bioavailability of tasimelteon and to further assess the single-dose pharmacokinetics, safety, and tolerability of oral and intravenous (IV) routes of administration of the drug. This study was an open-label, single-dose, randomized, 2-period, 2-treatment, 2-sequence, crossover study in which 14 healthy volunteers were randomly administered tasimelteon as either a 20-mg capsule or IV administration of 2 mg infused over 30 minutes. Each subject received both treatments in a random order, separated by a washout period of 5 ± 2 days. The total clearance and volume of distribution of tasimelteon, from the IV treatment, were 505 mL per minute and 42.7 L, respectively. Based on the statistical comparison of dose-corrected area under the curve to infinity, the absolute bioavailability was 38%, with a 90% confidence interval of 27%-54%. The mean elimination half-life was the same for the oral and IV routes. The exposure ratios, oral-to-IV, for metabolites M9, M11, M12, and M13, were 133.27%, 118.28%, 138.76%, and 112.36%, respectively, suggesting presystemic or first-pass metabolism. Three (21.4%) subjects experienced a treatment-emergent adverse event (TEAE) during the study. All TEAEs were mild, considered related to study medication, and consistent with what has been seen in other studies. There were no deaths, serious adverse events, or discontinuations due to TEAEs. Both tasimelteon treatments were well tolerated during the study.

Pharmacokinetics of the dual melatonin receptor agonist tasimelteon in subjects with hepatic or renal impairment.

Tasimelteon is a circadian regulator that resets the master clock in the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus by binding to both melatonin MT1 and MT2 receptors making it a dual melatonin receptor agonist. Tasimelteon has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of Non-24-Hour Sleep-Wake Disorder (Non-24). Two prospective, single-center, open-label studies evaluated the pharmacokinetics of tasimelteon and its main metabolites after a single 20 mg dose administered to subjects with mild or moderate hepatic impairment or severe renal impairment, including subjects on dialysis compared to healthy controls. In subjects with mild or moderate hepatic impairment, exposure to tasimelteon after a single 20 mg dose, as measured by area under the plasma concentration-time curve to infinity, was increased by approximately 2-fold. There was no apparent relationship between tasimelteon clearance and renal function. No safety concerns were apparent in either study. Based on these results, the changes in the pharmacokinetics of tasimelteon due to mild or moderate hepatic or severe renal impairment are not considered clinically relevant, and no dose adjustment is necessary in these patients.

Efficacy of iloperidone in the treatment of schizophrenia: initial phase 3 studies.

Iloperidone is an atypical antipsychotic in development for the treatment of schizophrenia. This report examines efficacy results from three 6-week, randomized, double-blind, placebo- and active comparator-controlled studies in patients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder. Multiple doses of iloperidone were studied. Active comparators (haloperidol 15 mg/d, or risperidone 4-8 mg/d) were included to confirm trial validity. The primary protocol-defined efficacy variable in Study 1 was change from baseline to end point in Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total scores; in Studies 2 and 3, it was change in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale-derived Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale scores. Results were assessed through analysis of covariance using last observation carried forward in the intent-to-treat population. In total, 1943 patients were randomized. At least 1 iloperidone dosing group in each study demonstrated significantly better efficacy than placebo (Study 1, iloperidone 12 mg/d [P = 0.047]; Study 2, 4-8 mg/d [P = 0.012] and 10-16 mg/d [P = 0.001]; and Study 3, 20-24 mg/d [P = 0.010]). Active controls were also significantly more effective than placebo in each trial, thus validating the trials. Additional analysis in patients who received active treatment for at least 2 weeks indicated comparable efficacy score reductions at 6 weeks for patients receiving iloperidone 20 to 24 mg/d versus those receiving haloperidol or risperidone. Risk for motor-related adverse events (eg, akathisia and extrapyramidal symptoms) was lower with iloperidone than with risperidone and haloperidol and was generally similar to placebo. These trials indicate that iloperidone is effective for the treatment of schizophrenia.