Two medicines, side by side
Lurasidone vs lamotrigine
Lurasidone and lamotrigine are both labeled for bipolar disorder. Drugs@FDA records approvals of lurasidone since 2010 and of lamotrigine since 1994. Pharmacies paid $0.142 per lurasidone HCl 20 mg tablet and $0.0268 per lamotrigine 25 mg tablet (NADAC, October 7, 2026); the strengths differ, so the two prices are not like for like. Lamotrigine's other strengths are brand-only: $2.86 per mL (Subvenite 10 mg/mL suspension). In FDA's classes, lurasidone is an atypical antipsychotic and lamotrigine a mood stabilizer.
Check it at the source: the lurasidone FDA label on DailyMed (effective January 31, 2025); the lamotrigine FDA label on DailyMed (effective October 10, 2025).
Highlights of the lurasidone record
Lurasidone (Latuda) · label of January 31, 2025
INCREASED MORTALITY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA-RELATED PSYCHOSIS; and SUICIDAL THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIORS WARNING: INCREASED MORTALITY IN ELDERLY PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA-RELATED PSYCHOSIS; and SUICIDAL THOUGHTS AND BEHAVIORS See full prescribing information for complete boxed warning. Elderly patients with dementia-related psychosis treated with antipsychotic drugs are at an increased risk of death. LATUDA is not approved for the treatment of patients with dementia-related psychosis ( 5.1 ).
Used for
From the label: indicationsLATUDA is indicated for: Treatment of adult and adolescent patients (13 to 17 years) with schizophrenia [see Clinical Studies ( 14.1 )]. Monotherapy treatment of adult and pediatric patients (10 to 17 years) with major depressive episode associated with bipolar I disorder (bipolar depression) [see Clinical Studies ( 14.2 )]. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- October 28, 2010
- Generic labelers
- 28 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.142 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- No current entry
- Recalls
- 2
Highlights of the lamotrigine record
Lamotrigine (Lamictal) · label of October 10, 2025
SERIOUS SKIN RASHES LAMICTAL can cause serious rashes requiring hospitalization and discontinuation of treatment. The incidence of these rashes, which have included Stevens-Johnson syndrome, is approximately 0.3% to 0.8% in pediatric patients (aged 2 to 17 years) and 0.08% to 0.3% in adults receiving LAMICTAL. One rash-related death was reported in a prospectively followed cohort of 1,983 pediatric patients (aged 2 to 16 years) with epilepsy taking LAMICTAL as adjunctive therapy.
Used for
From the label: indicationsLAMICTAL is indicated for: Epilepsy–adjunctive therapy in patients aged 2 years and older: • partial-onset seizures. • primary generalized tonic-clonic (PGTC) seizures. • generalized seizures of Lennox-Gastaut syndrome. […]
On the market
- Earliest approval on file
- December 27, 1994
- Generic labelers
- 49 labelers
- Pharmacy cost
- $0.0268 per tablet
Supply and safety
- Shortage
- A presentation being discontinued
- Recalls
- 10
Source: FDA drug labels via openFDA (Lurasidone label of January 31, 2025, Lamotrigine label of October 10, 2025); NDC Directory, Drugs@FDA, NADAC, FDA shortages and recalls (October 8, 2026)
How do lurasidone and lamotrigine differ on the record?
In FDA's classes, lurasidone is an atypical antipsychotic and lamotrigine a mood stabilizer.
How each works, in its label's words: Lurasidone, “The mechanism of action of lurasidone in the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar depression is unclear.”; Lamotrigine, “The precise mechanism(s) by which lamotrigine exerts its anticonvulsant action are unknown.”
Both labels carry a boxed warning; the records quote them.
Generics: lurasidone since 2019; lamotrigine since 2006 (Drugs@FDA).
| Lurasidone | Lamotrigine | |
|---|---|---|
| Labeled for | Schizophrenia, Bipolar disorder, Depression | Seizures and epilepsy, Bipolar disorder |
| Pharmacologic class | Atypical Antipsychotic | Anti-epileptic Agent, Mood Stabilizer |
| How it works (label) | The mechanism of action of lurasidone in the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar depression is unclear. | The precise mechanism(s) by which lamotrigine exerts its anticonvulsant action are unknown. |
| Half-life (label) | n/a | n/a |
| Earliest approval on file (Drugs@FDA) | October 28, 2010 | December 27, 1994 |
| First generic approved | January 3, 2019 | June 21, 2006 |
| Generic labelers (NDC) | 28 labelers | 49 labelers |
| Pharmacy cost (NADAC, each one's most listed form; strengths differ) | $0.142 per tablet (Lurasidone HCl 20 mg tablet) | $0.0268 per tablet (Lamotrigine 25 mg tablet) |
| 12-month price change | -28% | -12% |
| Boxed warning | Yes | Yes |
| Shortage now | No current entry | A presentation being discontinued |
| Recalls recorded | 2 | 10 |
| FAERS reports (a report is not proof of cause; counts follow how widely a medicine is used) | 20,803 | 130,994 |
| DEA schedule | none | none |
Source: Drugs@FDA, FDA NDC Directory, CMS NADAC of October 7, 2026, FDA shortages and recalls, FAERS via openFDA (FDA files October 8, 2026)
What next?
- Alternatives to lurasidone
- every medicine labeled for the same conditions