The Godfather of Clozapine Calls for End to REMS

No one knows more about the history of clozapine than Dr. Gil Honigfeld. As the clozapine product champion from 1973 to 2004, Dr. Honigfeld led the tumultuous clinical trials that released clozapine to the US market for treatment-resistant schizophrenia on September 26, 1989. He also oversaw the launch of clozapine’s second FDA-approved indication as the first and only medication shown to reduce suicide, following the conclusion of the  InterSePT study in 2002.

As family members who have watched our loved ones emerge from hopeless psychosis to reclaim their lives and livelihoods, we are forever indebted to Dr. Honigfeld for his decades-long fight to keep clozapine available for our sickest psychiatric patients. Representing his biggest fan club, The Angry Moms have aptly dubbed Dr. Honigfeld The Godfather of Clozapine.

Dr. Honigfeld, who insists we call him Gil, has emerged from retirement on a mission to end the outdated, discriminatory, and cruel clozapine REMS program that has become a deadly barrier to accessing this “Gold Standard” treatment.

Psychiatric News Senior reporter Mark Moran has published an update on Gil’s efforts:

‘Godfather of Clozapine’ Calls for End to REMS | Psychiatric News (psychiatryonline.org)

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Many don’t realize that clozapine almost didn’t make it. To learn the harrowing backstory, here is an in-depth interview with Gil detailing the great lengths it took to obtain clozapine’s FDA approval:

How to Treat Schizophrenia - by Santi Ruiz - Statecraft

Thank you, Gil, for your 50 years of dedication to clozapine and ensuring this treatment is available for the sick and suffering among us.

The Angry Moms