Wyeth Pharmaceuticals gets Effexor XR approved by FDA

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Wyeth’s Effexor XR (venlafaxine HCl) for the treatment of adults with panic disorder.

The drug is the first antidepressant approved for panic disorder since 2002.

The efficacy of Effexor XR as a treatment for panic disorder was established in two double-blind, 12-week, placebo-controlled studies. Adult patients received fixed doses of 75 or 150 mg/day in one study and 75 or 225 mg/day in the other study. In these studies, Effexor XR was significantly more effective than placebo at all three doses.

“Given the complicated, recurrent nature of panic disorder, it is imperative that physicians have new and effective treatment options, like Effexor XR, to offer patients,” says Alexander Bystritsky, professor of psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and director of the UCLA Anxiety Disorders Program.

Panic disorder may be associated with conditions such as depression or other anxiety disorders. Effexor XR, a serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, is indicated not only for panic disorder but also for the treatment of adults with major depressive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) or social anxiety disorder (SAD).

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