Vanda's victory

Now that it has convinced FDA that Fanapt iloperidone is as effective as marketed atypical antipsychotics, Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc.'s job is to convince psychiatrists the drug's tolerability profile makes it a competitive choice as a second-line treatment for schizophrenia.

In four Phase III trials included in the NDA, two of the studies used Risperdal risperidone from Johnson & Johnson as an active comparator. In both trials, the Risperdal arm showed numerically better efficacy than Fanapt...