Pimavanserin Lowers Mortality Risk in Those with Parkinson Disease Psychosis 

 Results from a retrospective analysis published in Drug Safety indicate that individuals with Parkinson disease psychosis (PDP) treated with pimavanserin (Nuplazid; Acadia Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, CA) have a lower mortality risk compared with those treated with other atypical antipsychotics. 

This observational study examined Medicare claims data from more than 20,000 individuals aged 65 and older diagnosed with PDP from 2016-2019 who were treated with either pimavanserin or atypical antipsychotics (aripiprazole, brexpiprazole, clozapine, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone). Those treated with pimavanserin (n=2,892) were more than 20% less likely to die when compared with those taking atypical antipsychotics (n=19,083). Similar results were seen in an analysis of a subcohort of individuals living in either long-term care or skilled nursing facilities. 

“These findings, along with other recently published studies, will help physicians and the patients they treat make decisions about managing PDP symptoms that can be quite troubling and disruptive to patients and their families, significantly impacting their quality of life,” said Ponni Subbiah, MD, MPHD, senior vice president, Global Head of Medical Affairs and chief medical officer, Acadia Pharmaceuticals. 

Pimavanserin is a 5HT2A receptor inverse agonist approved by the FDA in 2016 to treat hallucinations and delusions associated with PDP.