VENICE--23 Jun--PRNewswire-AsiaNet/InfoQuest Efficacy and safety data were generally consistent with oral olanzapine with the exception of injection-related events Results from olanzapine long-acting injection (LAI) clinical trials showed that the efficacy and safety profile of olanzapine LAI was generally consistent with that of Zyprexa(R) (olanzapine) with the exception of injection-related events. Results from a 24-week maintenance study (HGKA) and interim findings from an ongoing open-label study (HGKB) were presented at the first annualSchizophrenia International Research Society (SIRS) Conference in Venice, Italy. Olanzapine LAI is an investigational formulation that combines olanzapine with a pamoate salt, resulting in an extended delivery of up to four weeks. Since olanzapine was introduced in 1996, it has been prescribed to approximately 24 million people worldwide. "These studies offer insight into the potential of olanzapine LAI as a maintenance treatment for patients with schizophrenia who may have difficulty taking medication on a daily basis," said David McDonnell, M.D., clinical research physician at Lilly. "Schizophrenia is a challenging and complex disease to manage, which is why finding new ways to support patient compliancewith medication is so important." Regulatory reviews of olanzapine LAI applications are ongoing in the European Union, Canada, Australia and United States. Notes for editors: About HGKA (24-week maintenance of effect study) In this 24-week double-blind maintenance study, a total of 1,065 adult outpatients with schizophrenia who had been stabilized previously on open-label oral olanzapine (10, 15, or 20 mg daily) for four to eight weeks were randomized to one of three therapeutic dosing regimens of olanzapine LAI (150 mg every two weeks, 405 mg every four weeks, or 300 mg every two weeks),or to a low reference dose of olanzapine LAI (45 mg every four weeks), or remained on oral olanzapine at their previously stabilized dose. At the three higher doses, olanzapine LAI showed maintenance of treatment effect for schizophrenia for up to 24 weeks. Patients remained free of symptom exacerbation (relapse), as assessed by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS), at a rate of 95 percent with 300 mg/two weeks, 90 percent with 405 mg/four weeks, and 84 percent with 150 mg/two weeks of olanzapine LAI.Comparatively, 93 percent of patients receiving oral olanzapine remained free of symptom exacerbation during the study. The 405 mg/four weeks and the pooled two-week dosing regimens showed non-inferiority when compared to oral olanzapine as well as to each other. All three higher olanzapine LAI doses had longer time to symptom exacerbation than the reference dose (all p