Nitto Denko, Dainippon begin Phase II for world's first transdermal antipsychotic

Nitto Denko and Dainippon Sumitomo have started a Phase II trial of a transdermal patch delivering Dainippon Sumitomo's antipsychotic Lonasen (blonanserin), which has been launched in Japan and South Korea. The patch is the world's first transdermal patch formulation for the treatment of schizophrenia, according to Nitto Denko. Schizophrenia affects around 800,000 people in Japan, and the two companies have been working on the patch since 2010.

The Phase I studies in healthy people showed that blonanserin was well-absorbed in single and repeated doses. The Phase II trial is designed to identify the optimal dose, according to Nitto Denko's announcement.

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