Sertindole was developed by the Danish pharmaceutical company Lundbeck and marketed under license by Abbott Labs.

Like other atypical antipsychotics, it has activity at dopamine and serotonin receptors in the brain.

[9] Abbott Labs first applied for U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for sertindole in 1996,[10] but withdrew this application in 1998 following concerns over the increased risk of sudden death from QTc prolongation.

[13] Nevertheless, in April 2009 an FDA advisory panel voted 13-0 that sertindole was effective in the treatment of schizophrenia but 12-1 that it had not been shown to be acceptably safe.

In 2002, based on new data, the EMA's CHMP suggested that Sertindole could be reintroduced for restricted use in clinical trials, with strong safeguards including extensive contraindications and warnings for patients at risk of cardiac dysrhythmias, a recommended reduction in maximum dose from 24 mg to 20 mg in all but exceptional cases, and extensive ECG monitoring requirement before and during treatment.