Roluperidone monotherapy, a treatment for negative symptoms in schizophrenia.

Roluperidone is a drug in development targeting primary negative symptoms in schizophrenia, which binds sigma-2, 5-HT2A, and alpha1a receptors. Roluperidone administered as monotherapy to patients suffering from mild to moderate negative symptoms and withdrawal from antipsychotic drugs, improved negative symptoms in 2 clinical trials. The patients who were symptomatically stable for 3 or 6 months before antipsychotic drug withdrawal showed a very low rate of psychotic symptoms worsening over 6 or 9-month trial duration. Focus: Treatment of primary negative symptoms in a subgroup of patients suffering from schizophrenia.