Schizophrenia is a brain disease. The primary features of schizophrenia are characterized by Positive symptoms (symptoms that should not be there, inability to think clearly, to distinguish reality from fantasy i.e., hearing voices) and Negative symptoms (a reduction or absence of normal behaviors or emotions, i.e., unable to manage emotions, make decisions and relate to others). Other symptoms include reduced ability to recall and learn new information, difficulty with problem solving, or maintaining productive employment. The symptoms of schizophrenia may be due to an imbalance in chemicals in the brain, primarily dopamine and serotonin, which enables brain cells to communicate with each other.

The clinical development of asenapine, as described in the 2007 IDB appears to have antipsychotic activity with superior symptomatic control compared to placebo and an improved safety profile compared to currently available neuroleptics. Its fast dissolving formulation may further add to treatment compliance. While various titration schedules have been used in previous studies, dose increases at 5 mg BID up to 10 mg BID have been well tolerated. Therefore, further exploration in a larger group of subjects with acute exacerbation of schizophrenia using an asenapine flexible dosing design ( 5 or 10 mg BID) will mimic actual clinical practice in a long-term 52-week extension trial.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Completed the short-term trial ( 041021 or 021022)
• Continued to meet all demographic and procedural inclusion criteria of the short-term trial upon entry into this long-term extension trial
• Sign a written informed consent for the 041512 trial.
• Demonstrated an acceptable degree of compliance with trial medication in the short-term trials in the opinion of the investigator

Exclusion Criteria:

• CGI-S score of greater or equal to 6 ( severely psychotic)
• Occurrence(s) of AE or other clinically significant findings that would prohibit their continuation
• Met any of exclusion criteria regarding medical/psychiatric status listed in the short-term trials ( 041021 or 041022)
• Met exclusion criteria for medication status in short-term trials except for antidepressants and mood stabilizers.