Olanzapine

Abstract

The economic impact of schizophrenia on healthcare systems is substantial, and it is important to be able to make informed decisions as to which therapies will provide an optimally cost-effective outcome for patients, their care-givers and society at large. The treatment of schizophrenia is in a state of flux, with atypical agents such as Lilly’s olanzapine [‘Zyprexa’] and Janssen’s risperidone [‘Risperdal’] vying for a significant share of the antipsychotic market. Two studies indicating olanzapine has economic advantages over risperidone and the older conventional antipsychotic agent haloperidol were presented by Lilly researchers at the 11th Congress of the European College of Neurophyschopharmacology [ Paris, France; October 1998 ].