asenapine vs carbamazepine

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Side-by-side comparison of asenapine and carbamazepine. Data from FDA drug databases (Orange Book, NDC Directory, recalls, shortages) covering 20,000+ approved drugs, plus CMS pricing; see our methodology.

minor Known Drug Interaction

7.2 Drugs Having No Clinically Important Interactions with Asenapine No dosage adjustment of asenapine is necessary when administered concomitantly with paroxetine (see Table 12 in Drug Interactions (7.1) for paroxetine dosage adjustment), imipramine, cimetidine, valporate, lithium, or a CYP3A4 inducer (e.g., carbamazepine, phenytoin, rifampin).

Drug Class
asenapine Atypical Antipsychotic
carbamazepine Anticonvulsant
Type
asenapine Prescription
carbamazepine Prescription
Summary
asenapine

Asenapine (Saphris) is an antipsychotic medicine. It is used to treat bipolar I disorder in adults and children ages 10-17.

carbamazepine

Carbamazepine is a medicine used to control seizures and treat nerve pain. It works by reducing abnormal electrical activity in the brain and calming nerve signals.

What It Treats
asenapine

Asenapine is used to treat bipolar I disorder. In children ages 10 to 17, it can treat manic or mixed episodes on its own. In adults, it can be used with lithium or valproate to treat these episodes.

carbamazepine

Carbamazepine is used to treat certain types of seizures, including partial seizures and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. It can also treat mixed seizure patterns. Carbamazepine also treats the pain from trigeminal neuralgia, a nerve disorder that causes intense facial pain. It is also sometimes used for glossopharyngeal neuralgia.

How It Works
asenapine

Asenapine affects certain chemicals in the brain. These chemicals are called neurotransmitters. By changing the balance of these chemicals, asenapine can help reduce symptoms of bipolar disorder.

carbamazepine

Carbamazepine is an anticonvulsant. It works by reducing the spread of seizure activity in the brain. It also stabilizes nerve impulses to reduce pain.

Common Side Effects
asenapine
  • Sleepiness
  • Numbness in the mouth
  • Dizziness
  • Changes in taste
  • Nausea
carbamazepine
  • Dizziness
  • Drowsiness
  • Unsteadiness
  • Nausea
  • Vomiting
FAERS Reports
asenapine
  • Drug Interaction 78
  • Toxicity To Various Agents 64
  • Completed Suicide 61
  • Myocarditis 53
  • Sedation 39
carbamazepine
  • Seizure 3,609
  • Drug Interaction 3,369
  • Fall 3,044
  • Dizziness 2,862
  • Pyrexia 2,689
Serious Warnings
asenapine

Asenapine may increase the risk of death in elderly patients who have psychosis related to dementia. Asenapine is not approved to treat this condition.

carbamazepine

Carbamazepine can cause severe skin reactions, including Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS) and toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), which can be fatal. If you are of Asian descent, you may need a blood test before starting this medicine. Carbamazepine can also cause serious blood problems like aplastic anemia and agranulocytosis. Contact your doctor right away if you develop a fever, sore throat, rash, or unusual bleeding or bruising.

Pregnancy
asenapine

Tell your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Babies born to mothers who use antipsychotics in the last 3 months of pregnancy may have withdrawal symptoms after birth. There is a pregnancy registry, call 1-866-961-2388.

carbamazepine

Carbamazepine may harm an unborn baby. Talk to your doctor if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. It is not known if carbamazepine passes into breast milk, so talk to your doctor about breastfeeding.

Also Compare, Nearby Drugs

How to Read This asenapine vs carbamazepine Comparison

asenapine is classified in the Atypical Antipsychotic drug class, while carbamazepine sits within the Anticonvulsant class. Drugs from different classes work through distinct mechanisms, so a head-to-head comparison illustrates trade-offs rather than equivalence. Both drugs are prescription-only, so a licensed provider must authorize use.

Adverse event totals above are pulled from the FDA's Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS). For these top-ranked reactions alone, asenapine has 295 submissions while carbamazepine has 15,573. Those figures reflect cumulative reporting volume, not per-patient risk, so older, widely dispensed drugs typically look worse on count alone. These two drugs have a known minor interaction flagged in FDA labeling, attributed to carbamazepine does not significantly change the levels of asenapine in your body.. Serious warnings, pregnancy guidance, and contraindications can differ even when indications overlap.

A table cannot represent individual circumstances. Data here is sourced from FDA Structured Product Labels (SPL) and FAERS, both of which update as manufacturers and clinicians submit new information. This registry does not provide medical, treatment, substitution, or medication-change directions for asenapine or carbamazepine.

Registry boundary: This comparison displays source-record fields and does not provide individualized medical direction.