Based on: Schizophrenia — gene targets, candidate compounds and trials, OSMF Research Tracker (DGIdb, Open Targets, ChEMBL, PubMed and ClinicalTrials.gov data). Numbers are a snapshot taken 8 October 2026; the tracker page is the live version.
Short answer: as of October 2026, the OSMF Research Tracker lists 51 candidate interventions for schizophrenia that are either approved medicines or have at least one registered clinical trial, built on 8 druggable gene targets, with 14 recent trials on ClinicalTrials.gov. 8 are already approved medicines, for this condition or another one; where the approval is for a different condition, the trial is testing a new use, which is what drug repurposing means. Being in a trial says an intervention is being studied, not that it works; that is what the trial is for.
Which candidates have the most trial activity?
Ranked by the number of registered trials the tracker found. Each trial ID links to the registry entry, where you can read the design, status and sponsor.
- Risperidone — 6 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT04478838 NCT00485498 NCT03568500
- Aripiprazole — 4 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT02339844 NCT01338298 NCT00312598
- Olanzapine — 4 registered trials · approved medicine · NCT04478838 NCT00169065 NCT03568500
- OPC-34712 — 3 registered trials · investigational · NCT01451164
- Alpha Lipoic Acid — 2 registered trials · investigational · NCT01355952 NCT03788759
- Atomoxetine — 2 registered trials · investigational · NCT00628394 NCT00161031
- asenapine — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT01190267
- Clozapine — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT00169065
- Iloperidone — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT00254202
- paliperidone — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT04478838
- Ziprasidone — 1 registered trial · approved medicine · NCT00254202
- 18F-Fluoro-L-dopa — 1 registered trial · investigational · NCT00024622
Which gene targets are these built on?
The tracker starts from genes with evidence of being druggable in schizophrenia and asks which compounds act on them. Each symbol links to its DGIdb entry, which lists the interacting drugs and the papers behind them: AKT1, BDNF, COMT, DRD2, DRD3, GAD1, GRIN2B, HTR2A.
Which trials are registered?
- PET Scanning in Parkinson s Disease NCT00024622 · Completed · started 2002-03-15
- Dysfunction of Respiratory Enzymes in Adults With Mental Illness (DREAM) NCT07866833 · Completed · Phase NA · started 2020-06-01
- iTBS to Enhance Social Cognition in People With Psychosis NCT06118268 · Recruiting · Phase NA · started 2023-10-30
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of Neuropsychiatric Patients and Healthy Volunteers NCT00004571 · Completed · started 2000-02-17
- Stratification and Treatment in Early Psychosis Study - ENHANCE NCT06778564 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE3 · started 2026-10-05
- A Study of Brenipatide in Adult Participants With Schizophrenia NCT07410507 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE2 · started 2026-02-10
- Epigenetic Enhancement of Cognitive Training in Aging Mood and Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder Populations NCT07404085 · Recruiting · Phase NA · started 2025-11-14
- Efficacy and Safety of Iloperidone Compared With Placebo and Active Control in Subjects With Acute Schizophrenia NCT00254202 · Completed · Phase PHASE3 · started 2005-11-18
- A Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of KarXT for the Treatment of Schizophrenia in Adolescents (EMERGENT TEEN) NCT07288567 · Recruiting · Phase PHASE3 · started 2026-01-29
- Multimodal Intervention to Support Hospital-to-Community Transition in Bipolar Disorder NCT07213492 · Recruiting · Phase NA · started 2026-06-01
How to read this
Evidence is graded on the tracker page in three tiers: clinical (tested in people), mechanistic (a documented action on the target) and correlative (an association in the literature). Most candidates sit in the lower tiers, and many trials are small or early-phase. The purpose of this list is to show where the research is, with sources, so that patients, clinicians and researchers can look further; it is not a ranking of what to take.
Related on this site
Research information, not medical advice. Decisions about any medicine belong with you and your clinician. The underlying data are open (CC BY 4.0) and refreshed daily; this note was generated from the tracker page on 8 October 2026.