Washington: For the first time in decades, the Food and Drug Administration has approved a new type of drug for schizophrenia.
The twice-a-day pill to be marketed by Bristol Myers Squibb will be called Cobenfy, though it had been referred to as KarXT during development. Its main advantage is that it appears to have fewer side effects than current medicines.
That difference has captured the attention of patients like Tiffany, a librarian in Oklahoma. She asked us to use only her first name because of the stigma associated with schizophrenia.
When she was first put on an antipsychotic drug, she says it made her feel like a zombie. Watching a video of her birthday party that year, she didn’t recognize herself.
“I was opening presents — everyone was happy. And I’m just sitting there like, there’s nothing going on. Like, I’m staring at a blank wall,” she says. “And so I lied and I told everyone I was better.”
