Pristiq: New Antidepressant or Merely a Patent Extender?

The newest entry into the antidepressant market is Pristiq (desvenlafaxine).Pristiq (desvenlafaxine), is in the SNRI category of antidepressants and is manufactured by the Wyeth Corporation. This drug received FDA approval in March, 2008. Faced with the fact that Wyeth
is losing patent protection for its top-selling antidepressant Effexor XR(venlafaxine XR), the company needed a brand product that would potentially replace some of the revenue loss when Effexor XR goes generic in 2010. Sales of Effexor XR in 2007 hovered around 3.8 billion
dollars.

Wyeth claims that Pristiq has distinct advantages over Effexor XR. Among them are that patients can begin taking Pristiq at the therapeutic dose of 50 milligrams thereby circumventing the “start low, go slow” gradual increases associated with determining the appropriate dose for an individual. Another advantage of Pristiq, according to Dr. Philip Ninan, a Wyeth vice president for neuroscience, is that Pristiq is unlikely to interact with other medications metabolized by the liver.

But several analysts are skeptical of Pristiq, claiming that it has not set itself apart from other antidepressants on the market, and that its release appeared primarily to have the drug serve as a “patent extender” for Effexor XR. This is because Pristiq is a primary active metabolite of Effexor, meaning Pristiq is the chemical compound that results after Effexor is taken and then metabolized and processed by the body.

What are your thoughts on pharmaceutical companies that design “new” drugs from the active metabolites of predecessors that have lost patent protection?

Direct-to-Consumer Advertising for Prescription Drugs

 Those ubiquitous television advertisements for prescription drugs probably won’t disappear anytime soon, but the pharmaceutical industry has reeled in commercial spending and is expected to announce restrictions on its ads. A number of trends are responsible for the changes to the industry’s advertising strategy. Congress has ramped up its scrutiny of drug advertisements. Fewer new medications have been approved by the FDA in recent years, and previous best sellers have lost the benefits of patent protection.

Prior to 2007, consumer-focused drug advertising had generally been on the increase after the FDA relaxed restrictions on television ads in the late 1990s, and reached a peak of $5.4 billion in 2006, according to TNS Media Intelligence, a New York provider of ad data. The ads have introduced TV viewers to such images as the radiant lunamoth promoting Sepracor Inc.’s sleep drug Lunesta, and the benefits of Eli Lilly’s antidepressant Cymbalta because “depression hurts.”

Drug makers count on ads to increase the number of diagnoses of the various syndromes targeted by their medications. And there are studies demonstrating that people who view drug commercials are more likely to ask their doctors for prescriptions. Supporters of drug advertising say the ads increase awareness of disorders and possible treatment outcomes, and can help sidestep medication underuse. Detractors say the ads are misleading and often promise more than they actually deliver.

Where do you come down on the whole direct-to-consumer advertising issue?  Are you a supporter or a detractor?

Welcome

Welcome clinicians, colleagues, friends and caregivers to our blogposts.  We hope these commentaries will bring fresh perspectives, valuable insights and solutions to your mental health medication issues.

Our desire is that you find something of interest in each of these posts, and that you will look forward to receiving them on a weekly basis.  We would love to hear your comments, suggestions or requests for future content.

Sincerely,

Joe Wegmann