Abilify Wins Approval for Bipolar Disorder
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 6 (HealthDayNews) -- The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Bristol-Myers Squibb's schizophrenia drug Abilify (aripiprazole) to treat the acute mania associated with bipolar disorder.
The drug had been tested on 516 bipolar patients, showing significant improvement of symptoms of uncontrolled mania, the company said in a statement. More than 2 million people in the United States have bipolar disorder, a brain condition that causes unusual shifts in a person's mood, energy, and ability to function.
Last month, the FDA published a letter from the manufacturer of a competing medication, Pfizer's Geodon, that warned of a heightened risk for diabetes and hyperglycemia in some patients who took this class of drugs.
To learn more about bipolar disorder, visit the National Institute of Mental Health.
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