IntroductionCariprazine (RGH-188) is a novel antipsychotic drug that exerts partial agonism of dopamine D₂/D₃ receptors with preferential binding to D₃ receptor, antagonism of 5HT_2B receptors and partial agonism of 5HT_1A. Currently, cariprazine is in late-stage clinical development (phase III clinical trials) in patients with schizophrenia (S) and in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), as well as an adjunctive treatment in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) and drug-resistant MDD.ObjectivesCariprazine has completed phase III trials for the acute treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar mania, phase II trials for the bipolar depression and MDD whilst it is undergoing phase III trials as an adjunct to antidepressants.AimsThe present review aims at proving a comprehensive summary of the current evidence on the safety, tolerability and efficacy of cariprazine in the treatment of schizophrenia, BD (manic/mixed/depressive episode) and MDD.MethodsA systematic search was conducted on PubMed/Medline/Scopus and the database on Clinical Trials from inception until April 2015 by typing a set of specified keywords.ResultsAvailable evidence seems to support cariprazine efficacy in the treatment of cognitive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Preliminary findings suggest its antimanic activity whilst it is still under investigation its efficacy in the treatment of bipolar depression and MDD. Furthermore, the available data seems not to allow judgements about its antipsychotic potential in comparison with currently prescribed antipsychotics.ConclusionsFurther studies should be carried out to better investigate its pharmacodynamic and clinical potential, particularly as alternative to current antipsychotic drugs.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.