In Jacou (Hérault), a small town near Montpellier, Medincell is undoubtedly preparing to upset the daily lives of patients suffering from schizophrenia. “It’s the fruit of nine years of effort,” rejoices Christophe Douat, chairman of the executive board of this nugget of French biotech. The Food and drug administration (FDA), the American drug agency, has indeed given the green light to the marketing of Uzedy, a revolutionary treatment for this serious mental disorder, which affects approximately 24 million people worldwide. the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). This new drug will be on the American market within a few weeks.
It is not the molecule that makes up Uzedy that arouses so much hope: risperidone has already been prescribed to most people suffering from schizophrenia, to reduce the symptoms of the disease, for several decades. But it’s the way this new drug is administered that changes everything: Uzedy is injected by a doctor under the skin. Using technology developed by Medincell, it releases risperidone into the body for one or two months. “Schizophrenic patients are, in many cases, patients who do not follow their treatments, explains Christophe Douat to 20 minutes. It’s about one in two patients. Even before developing new molecules, the priority of the WHO is, moreover, to improve compliance, ie compliance with the instructions given by the doctor.
For one to two months, the schizophrenic patient and his relatives no longer have to think about treatment
“In the case of schizophrenia, when patients do not take their treatments, it obviously has an impact on their lives, on their health, and on those around them,” continues the entrepreneur. It is even “the most frequent cause of relapse in schizophrenia, explains, in the press release released Saturday by Medincell, Christoph Correll, professor of psychiatry at the Zucker School of Medicine, in New York. Active treatments of one or two months [comme l’Uzedy] have a real role to play in preventing relapses. »
Thus, with this treatment, for several weeks, the patient and his relatives no longer have to think about it, unlike oral treatments, which must be taken regularly. There are already, of course, injectable drugs, using this molecule, with a long action. “But these are first-generation treatments, with long intramuscular needles, products that have to be reconstituted before injection or that do not reach the right level of concentration for a few weeks, and that have to be supplemented with a treatment orally or by another injection, explains Christophe Douat. All these problems, we have solved them. Uzedy is ready to use and can only be administered by a minimally invasive “small injection”. And he is “at the right level, immediately”, continues the chairman of the Medincell board. During clinical trials, Uzedy has allowed a clear “improvement in the quality of life of patients”.
For Medincell, this first success calls for others
Medincell is not alone in leading this revolution: Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, giant of the pharmaceutical industry, alongside the Montpellier company since the beginnings of the development of this drug, will produce and distribute Uzedy.
Targeting, first, the American market is a choice for both partners. But there is no doubt that this drug will soon try to conquer other countries. France ? For the moment, Teva’s strategy for this new treatment against schizophrenia has not been revealed. But for Medincell, this first success calls for others. Its technology, which facilitates drug injections under the skin, is about to be applied, in particular, to female contraception, or painkillers.