A New Treatment Paradigm: Targeting TAAR1 in Schizophrenia

Antipsychotics fail to control symptoms for approximately one-third of patients with schizophrenia. In addition, they frequently cause adverse effects that may cause patients to abandon treatment or experience long-term health consequences. Recently, promising clinical data have emerged for a novel class of drugs with an entirely new mechanism for treating schizophrenia: the TAAR1 agonists. An additional treatment option for schizophrenia could dramatically improve the prospects for patients who cannot achieve recovery with existing antipsychotics or experience safety or tolerability issues. In this supplement, John M. Kane, MD reviews the data available for TAAR1 agonists, so that if and when they are approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, clinicians will be ready to use them to optimize patients’ outcomes. Topics covered include unmet needs in schizophrenia care, the mechanism of action of TAAR1 agonists versus traditional antipsychotics, preclinical and clinical data for TAAR1 agonists, and potential uses of TAAR1 agonists if approved.