The FINANCIAL — The first schizophrenia treatment to be taken just four times a year – with dosing measured in seasons, not days – is now available in the United States. The three-month dosing interval of INVEGA TRINZA (paliperidone palmitate) offers a new paradigm for treating patients with schizophrenia. With this newly available treatment option, healthcare providers can give patients greater independence by enabling them to focus less on taking their medication and more on other aspects of their treatment plan.
INVEGA TRINZA, an atypical antipsychotic injection, is administered just four times a year, providing the longest dosing interval available for people living with schizophrenia. Before starting INVEGA TRINZA, patients must be adequately treated with INVEGA SUSTENNA (one-month paliperidone palmitate) for at least four months, according to Johnson & Johnson.
Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved INVEGA TRINZA under Priority Review. This designation is for drugs that, if approved, would offer significant improvement in the treatment of serious conditions.
“With the sustained symptom control offered by INVEGA TRINZA, my patients and I can focus conversations on more than medication,” said clinical trial investigator Joseph Kwentus, MD, Precise Research Centers. “We can start looking at patients’ long-term personal goals beyond short-term symptom needs.”
The course of schizophrenia is varied, frequently involving periodic relapses of the disease. Each relapse can result in reduced response to treatment, putting continued symptom control even further out of reach. In the Phase 3 clinical trial, 93 percent of patients treated with INVEGA TRINZA remained relapse-free and did not experience a significant return of schizophrenia symptoms in a long-term maintenance trial. The results of this study were published in March by JAMA Psychiatry, a peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association. Based on positive efficacy, Janssen concluded this study early following the recommendation of an Independent Data Monitoring Committee (IDMC).
“Treatment for schizophrenia is believed to be more effective if it is begun early in the course of the illness,” said Tarry Wolfe, DNP, FNP-c, PMHNP-BC, Community Bridges, Inc. “The medical community needs a broad range of treatments to help individuals living with schizophrenia, and INVEGA TRINZA is now another medication option.”
Over the years, Janssen has remained committed to meeting patients’ needs related to their treatment. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. developed and launched JANSSEN CONNECT, an information and assistance program designed to help patients start and stay on their Janssen long-acting injectable atypical antipsychotic after their healthcare professional has deemed it to be the most clinically appropriate treatment option. JANSSEN CONNECT now provides information and assistance to patients prescribed INVEGA SUSTENNA and INVEGA TRINZA, both of which are part of the Janssen family of long-acting injectable atypical antipsychotic medications.
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