Torrent Pharmaceuticals Limited has launched aripiprazole, new-generation dopamine system stabilizer, under the brand name Arip MT. It is the first in a new class of antipsychotics and a major therapeutic advancement in the management of schizophrenia.

The Rs. 900 crore psychiatry care market in India is growing at a rate of 8%, with the antipsychotics market growing at 10%. Torrent is aiming to clock a sale of Rs. 3.5 crores from Arip Mt before the end of this fiscal.

Arip MT is Torrent’s third new launch in the neuro-psychiatry segment during the calender year after Feliz-S (Escitalopram) and Ropitor (Ropinirole).

“In a major research breakthrough, our scientists at Torrent Research Centre have developed the first and the only mouth-melting tablet formulation of aripiprazole in the world, offering dosage convenience and better patient compliance”, says Samir Mehta, Managing Director, Torrent Pharmaceuticals.

“Incidentally, we were also the first pharma company to launch the cardio-vascular drug Nebivolol (novel Beta-blocker) in May this year, under the brand name of Nebicard, which was much ahead of the competition”, he adds.

Arip MT has a unique pharmacological profile that modulates dopamine levels without completely blocking D2 receptors, offering the promise of comparable antipsychotic efficacy with a superior safety and side effect profile unlike the currently available typical and atypical antipsychotic agents. Aripiprazoole is the most suitable antipsychotic for new cases of schizophrenia and an ideal switch therapy for patients who could not tolerate or showed less responsiveness to existing medication.

Aripiprazole is claimed worldwide to be the antipsychotic with greatest positive impact on all facets of psychosis combined with the best tolerance parameters and lowest risk of changes in EPS, weight, lipid and QTc.