Olanzapine

Olanzapine (originally branded Zyprexa) is an atypical antipsychotic. It is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

Olanzapine is structurally similar to clozapine and quetiapine, but is classified as a thienobenzodiazepine. The olanzapine formulations are manufactured and marketed by the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Company; the drug went generic in 2011. Sales of Zyprexa in 2008 were $2.2B in the US, and $4.7B worldwide.

Medical uses

Schizophrenia

The first-line psychiatric treatment for schizophrenia is antipsychotic medication which includes olanzapine. A Cochrane review found, however, that the usefulness for maintenance therapy is difficult to determine as more than half of people in trials quit before the six-week completion date.

Comparison

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the British Association for Psychopharmacology, and the World Federation of Societies for Biological Psychiatry suggest that there is little difference in effectiveness between antipsychotics in prevention of relapse, and recommend that the specific choice of antipsychotic be chosen based on persons preference and side effect profile. The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality concludes that olanzapine is not different from haloperidol in the treatment of positive symptoms and general psychopathology, or in overall assessment, but that it is superior for the treatment of negative and depressive symptoms. When trials enrolling only treatment-resistant patients were excluded from the analysis, olanzapine was superior for overall assessment.