Speech Latency Enhances Antipsychotic Trial Outcomes

Researchers report in Biological Psychiatry (2025) that speech latency, measured from screening interviews of 406 schizophrenia patients in a Phase 3 brilaroxazine trial, can identify likely placebo responders. Excluding those participants increased treatment-placebo separation by two- to three-fold and allowed statistical significance with about half the sample size. The finding suggests speech-based enrichment can reduce trial size, cost, and improve signal detection.