BUDAPEST, Hungary, April 10, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Cariprazine, an original antipsychotic drug developed by Hungarian pharmaceutical company Gedeon Richter Plc. is available in 64 countries and has become a multiple blockbuster in the US, with sales of nearly $3 billion. It is a unique achievement that a Hungarian drug candidate – discovered and developed locally – has been granted FDA and EU approvals, and the company already has several further molecules in its pipeline.
“Thousands of psychiatrists arrived to Budapest for the European Congress of Psychiatry, and perhaps even they are unaware of how important role Hungarian researchers have played in this field worldwide. We have nearly 1200 researchers, making us the largest innovation base in the whole region. The fact that cariprazine has been among the TOP 100 drugs by sales for several years now is an outstanding achievement comparable to winning an Olympic medal,” Gábor Orbán, CEO of Richter said at a press conference held on the occasion of Budapest being the host of the European Congress of Psychiatry.
Dr. István Greiner, Director of Richter’s R&D recounted the story of cariprazine’s development. “It was not a one-off success; we have already brought 9 original medicines to the market since World War II. From 1998, we started to focus on the brain’s dopamine 3 receptor, and the efforts eventually resulted in cariprazine. It was approved by FDA in 2015 for schizophrenia – first in the history of the Hungarian pharmaceutical industry – later in the EU, and its indications extended in the US first for the depressive episodes of bipolar depression I and in 2019 for the adjunctive treatment of patients with major depressive disorder. In a joint project with AbbVie, we are looking forward to the success of our molecule for the treatment of a psychiatric disease, which is currently in Phase I alongside 3 other candidates of our portfolio in Phase I trials.”
Dr. Kristóf Kóczián, Head of Richter’s CNS business-unit talked about the global positioning and availability of the drug. “Since its launch, a total of 1.3 million patients were treated with cariprazine and it was the 46th best-selling innovative medicine in 2023, with sales of nearly $3 billion and a real chance of becoming the best-selling atypical antipsychotic in history.” Kóczián added.
Further information: Richter Gedeon
