Valbenazine

Valbenazine (development name NBI-98854) has been used in trials studying the treatment and basic science of Tourette Syndrome and Tardive Dyskinesia. In April, 2017, valbenazine was approved by the FDA (as Ingrezza) as the first and only approved treatment for adults with Tardive Dyskinesia (TD).|Valbenazine is a Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 Inhibitor. The mechanism of action of valbenazine is as a Vesicular Monoamine Transporter 2 Inhibitor.|The vesicular monoamine transporter type 2 (VMAT2) inhibitors are agents that cause a depletion of neuroactive peptides such as dopamine in nerve terminals and are used to treat chorea due to neurodegenerative diseases (such as Huntington chorea) or dyskinesias due to neuroleptic medications (tardive dyskinesia). As of 2019, three VMAT2 inhibitors have become available in the United States for management of dyskinesia syndromes, each with a somewhat different spectrum of approved indications: tetrabenazine (Xenazine and generics: 2008), deutetrabenazine (Austedo: 2017) and valbenazine (Ingressa: 2017). The VMAT2 inihibitors have not been associated with serum enzyme elevations during therapy or linked to instances of clinically apparent liver injury, but they have had limited general clinical use.