New data show Janssen’s Xeplion significantly delays time to relapse vs oral antipsychotic monotherapy

Janssen Pharmaceutica, a European subsidiary of US health care giant Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) released positive results of the Prevention of Relapse With Oral Antipsychotics Versus Injectable Paliperidone Palmitate (PROSIPAL) study at the 22nd European Congress of Psychiatry in Munich, Germany, this week.

Data showed that Xeplion (paliperidone palmitate), a once-monthly, long-acting therapy, significantly lengthened the time to relapse during the two year treatment phase, as well as significantly lowering relapse rates in people with schizophrenia, compared to treatment as usual with the investigator’s choice of oral antipsychotic treatment.

Xeplion, developed with USA-based Alkermes (Nasdaq: ALKS) and also sold under the brand name Invega Sustenna outside Europe, generated sales of $1.25 billion in 2013, a rise of 56.8% on the previous year.