The two companies has announced the launch of Abilify Maintena in Europe following approval by the European Commission in November 2013.

Denmark is the first European country where Abilify Maintena is fully reimbursed and accessible to people with schizophrenia, and more than ten markets are expected to launch by the end of 2014. Abilify Maintena (aripiprazole) is an intramuscular (IM), once-monthly injectable formulation for maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in adult patients stabilized with oral aripiprazole.

“We are very pleased to bring once-monthly Abilify Maintena to people diagnosed with schizophrenia” said Ole Chrintz, Senior Vice President, International Markets and Europe at Lundbeck in a press release. “Patients early in the course of their disease may have the most to gain from a long-acting treatment that reduces their risk of relapse over the long term and can help them maintain personal and social functioning.”

Abilify Maintena was approved by the FDA for the treatment of schizophrenia in the US in February 2013 and has recently received a marketing authorization for the maintenance treatment of schizophrenia in stabilized adult patients in Canada.

Source: Lundbeck