Lumateperone: New Drug or Same Old Drug With a New Dress?

Lumateperone (Caplyta ® ) is a drug recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of schizophrenia. But is it a new drug with promise, or a similar drug with new wrappings? This drug, similar to other second- and third-generation serotonin dopamine antagonists, is a potent antagonist at higher serotonin 2A receptors as well as brief binding to dopamine 1 and dopamine 2 (D2) receptors, but also has partial agonism at presynaptic D2 and indirect modulation of N-Methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) of the glutamine receptors. The current article reviews the putative effects of this novel mechanism of action on symptoms of schizophrenia as discussed in Phase II and III trials. A case study applies the information to a clinical situation. [ Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 58 (6), 9–12.]