excuse the rant:
"Since Zyprexa was introduced in 1996, it has been prescribed to approximately 20 million people worldwide."
--I wonder how many people honestly received benefit from those prescriptions.
--I wonder how many are in lawsuits, dead, or injured, or diabetic now.

This just makes me sick to read anything abouy Lilly pimping out a new wonder drug, testing it on 200 or so people against a sugar pill or Zyprexa, and saying after 28 days the side effects were nothing to worry about. Oh PA-LEEZE.

People didn't become diabetic or gain 50 pounds on Zyprexa after 28 days either. Try doing a trial for 6 -12 months and have a fucking conscious Lilly.

Hey Dawdy, speaking of non-dopamine-related treatment for schizophrenia:
Have you ever heard of a book called Healing Schizophrenia by Dr. Abram Hoffer? It was published in 2004 and the ISBN is 1-897-205-08-4 and the publisher is CCNM Press Inc. in Toronto.

The most useful thing from this book that we've come across is B3/Niacin supplementation. This, in addition to a low dose of Risperdal, does a fairly incredible job of practically eliminating my fiancé's psychotic symptoms, as long as he's remembering to take them every day. Have you heard anything about this? (The book ultimately suggests that B3 become your primary medication, but we'll approach that one slowly).

Since vitamins can't be patented, you can imagine no one actually prescribes this. We found it on our own. I'd love to know your thoughts or the thoughts of other readers.

The B3 thing works, if you stick with it. Mega dosing it though. Most docs won't hear it. My daughter [age 19]researched it and started this at age 17, but while coming off of Zyprexa, so once in the hospital they tossed the vitamins out. I've read quite a lot about B3 working miracles with people who have had no luck with antipsychotics.

I have several psych diagnosis including schizo, do I have the disorders? Who knows? I cook with sea salt , take a multivitamin for men and try to avoid wheat/gluten products. Schizophrenic symptoms/gluten-free dietI believe in personal responsibility(Szasz writing) and if "mental illness" is detectable with lab tests, it is no longer "mental illness" but a neurological condition.

I think you've missed the point of this latest paper. First, it was a Phase 2 study, not a Phase 1 as you say. Second, LY404039 efficacy was quite good as compared to both a placebo and a drug that is known to work (olanzapine). That it worked is remarkable. But equally exciting was the fact that it didn't reveal the side effects associated with olanzapine when studied over the same period. In other words, the older medication led to weight gain over the 28 day study, while the newer drug did not (see Figure 2).
I guess I can understand the caution and pessimism of your post, but I think the news is actually quite positive. Hopefully the Phase 3 studies won't reveal other problems.
Also I should mention that I own 40 shares of Eli Lily. I bought them yesterday after reading this new paper. I'm not connected in any other way to Lily or this research.

Mike, time will tell with that new "wonder drug" because as we all know, it is quite often YEARS after a medication is released and used by people that the horror stories/lack of efficacy stories come out[or lawsuits].Good luck with the 40 shares of Lilly, they have a lot to offer in that regard, Stattera, Cymbalta, not to mention the lawsuits re: Zyprexa. Wyeth might be a better choice for planning ahead for a block buster medication money maker.[just my opinion]

As Lilly is still in class-action lawsuits over misrepresenting Zyprexa to psychiatrists, general practitioners, and patients, I will take anything they say with HUGE grains of salt. Having watched two close friends be misdiagnosed with bipolar and be given Zyprexa by family practice docs, I've seen just how destructive it could be.

Certainly, we need new antipsychotics with novel mechanisms of action. As long as that market is so lucrative, companies will keep cranking out the Abiliquelodonarilazinols. I just wonder how many more drugs with harmful side effects will be pumped into patients based on a 28-day study in Russia that showed 80% efficacy.

tiny shrink- yeah the Lilly Zyprexa replacement $$ maker is a pile of bullshit.

Update on: "LILLY continues to develop LY2140023 and has begun a trial of 870 patients that is scheduled to be completed in January 2009."

Daring to think differently about SZ- NY Times-Lilly article.

"Driving the industry’s interest is the huge market for drugs for brain and psychiatric diseases. Worldwide sales total almost $50 billion annually, even though existing medicines have moderate efficacy and have side effects that range from reduced libido to diabetes.

The glutamate researchers warn that their quest for new treatments for schizophrenia is far from complete." [Wyeth is working on this also.]

Also.Maybe Dr.Schoepp was offered more money to work to develop glutamate drugs at Merck, or because he didn't want a drug that was showing less efficacy than Zyprexa, since Zyprexa is clearly not as efficacious as Lilly promotes, let alone the lawsuits.

"Since it hired Dr. Schoepp, Merck has also been moving aggressively. It has struck two deals since December to work with Addex Pharmaceuticals, a Swiss company, to develop glutamate drugs for schizophrenia, Parkinson’s and other diseases. Merck has paid Addex $25 million so far, with more payments to come if the drugs move forward."

NY Times article.

In my personal research I've started to read more and more about the glutamate factor with regard to SZ and Alzheimers, and feel one of these drugs that can address that might show some possible hope. The brain, in my opinion with regard to SZ is quite similar to Alzheimer's, this being based on personal experience. It's something to think about beyond the Pharma billion dollar hope for a block buster med, is that there could be something that takes on SZ and Alzheimers, both horrific attacks of the brain in my opinion.