Aripiprazole Lauroxil: Integrating Medicinal Chemistry And Pharmaceutics For Schizophrenia Treatment

Abstract

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder are chronic mental illnesses that impose a significant burden of disability and socioeconomic disadvantage worldwide. For many individuals, long-term illness management is often compromised by poor adherence to antipsychotic medications, which leads to increased relapse rates, worsening symptoms, and repeat hospitalizations. Long-Acting Injectables (LAIs) are designed to improve this problem by offering prolonged drug delivery over longer times, convenience of treatment compliance, and to maintain levels of compliance overall. LAIs have many advantages over oral therapy, which include: stable plasma levels of drug, less frequent dosing, and improved monitoring of patient compliance. This review highlights the importance of LAIs in psychiatric care as well as their role in improving treatment outcomes for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. This review highlights the clinical effects of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, describes the shortcomings of oral antipsychotic treatment, and reviews the therapeutic benefits of long-acting injectables (LAIs). Specific emphasis will be placed on the structure–activity relationship (SAR) and formulation approach of aripiprazole lauroxil, demonstrating the convergence of prodrug design and pharmaceutical advancement in addressing persistent challenges in mental health treatment.