WHITEHOUSE STATION, N.J. (AP) -- Merck & Co. says its schizophrenia drug Saphris has been approved for two additional uses by the Food and Drug Administration.

The drug was first approved in August 2009 for treating acute schizophrenia episodes in adults and acute mania or manic-depressive behavior in adults with bipolar disorder.

Merck says the FDA now has approved Saphris for ongoing treatment of schizophrenia and for treating acute mania or manic-depressive behavior in adult bipolar patients along with either lithium, a mood-stabilizing drug often used to treat mania, or the antiseizure drug valproate.

Merck has not yet reported sales figures for Saphris, also known as asenapine.

Saphris was developed by Schering-Plough Corp., which Merck bought last November.

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