KarXT: Combination of Xanomeline and Trospium

Abstract

KarXT is an oral, research-stage M1/M4-preferring muscarinic agonist that is being developed to treat psychiatric and neurological conditions, such as schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease-related psychosis. It is a combination of the muscarinic agonist xanomeline and the muscarinic antagonist trospium. Idea behind this psychopharmaceutical is to preferentially stimulate muscarinic receptors in the central nervous system and to unlock the therapeutic potential of xanomeline, while minimizing adverse effects observed in prior studies. All in all, KarXT is the first potential medication of its kind with a genuinely distinctive dual mechanism that treats symptoms of severe mental illness without relying on the dopaminergic or serotonergic pathway. If approved, this strategy could offer people with serious mental illnesses a different kind of therapy and positively influence their lives.