AstraZeneca receives UK licence for major depressive disorder drug

AstraZeneca has been granted UK regulatory approval for its drug Seroquel XL to be utilised in a new indication among patients with major depressive disorder (MDD).

The treatment has been ratified as an adjunctive therapy for major depressive episodes among MDD sufferers who have proven unresponsive to antidepressant monotherapy.

Figures from the Depression Alliance show that around 50 per cent of patients fail to respond to first-line antidepressant treatment, which means that Seroquel XL could prove to be an important new therapy option.

It is the only atypical antipsychotic drug approved for MDD as an add-on treatment and is also licensed as a monotherapy for acute depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder.

Mark Jones, marketing company president at AstraZeneca UK, said: "This means that people who haven't had their symptoms fully controlled after initial therapy have a new add-on treatment option available for their physicians to consider."

Earlier this week, the company received a recommendation from Europe's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use for its new acute coronary syndromes treatment Brilique to receive regulatory approval.