Wyeth hails antidepressant study findings

Wyeth has described the phase III trial results for its new antidepressant, desvenlafaxine succinate, as “promising”.

In a study measuring the drug’s effect on the heart’s QT interval (a measurement of the time it takes for the heart’s electrical cycle to complete) in adult females, it was found that there were no effects after eight hours of the first dose. Measuring a drug’s effect on the QT interval is one way in which the safety of drugs are tested, as a lengthened or shortened QT interval can lead to arrhythmias.

Wyeth applied to the FDA for the approval of desvenlafaxine succinate for use in patients with major depressive disorder. In a phase III trial, patients using the drug showed “significant improvement” in the clinical global impression-improvement scale – a measure of a drug’s effectiveness – in comparison to the placebo.

Nicholas A DeMartinis, assistant professor and associate director of clinical operations of the neuropsychopharmacology treatment research and training centre at the University of Connecticut Health Centre, said: “The phase III data showed that desvenlafaxine succinate can help improve symptoms in adult patients suffering with depression.”

“Because a substantial number of patients with depression do not respond to current antidepressant treatments, it is important that new treatments continue to be developed to provide patients and physicians with additional treatment options,” he added.

According to Wyeth, depression is the world’s most common serious mental disorder and it is the fourth leading cause of disability and premature death. A report in the Guardian claimed that depression costs the UK economy approximately 9 billion pounds a year. Although only 370 million pounds of that is in medical costs, the rest takes into account the financial burden of patients having to take time off work.

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