Wyeth Plans to Market New Antidepressant as Menopause Drug
Monday January 22, 2007
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is expected to receive initial approval this week for a new antidepressant called Pristiq.
Pristiq (desvenlafaxine succinate) is a derivative of the drug Effexor, which Wyeth is losing patent protection on in 2010. Patenting derivative drugs is a method that many drug companies use to avoid that slump in sales that occurs when generic versions of their drugs become available after a patent on a popular drug expires.
Effexor was the top-selling antidepressant worldwide in 2005 with sales of $3.46 billion.
Wyeth claims that not only is Pristiq an effective antidepressant, it is also effective in treating the hot flashes associated with menopause. They plan to market it to menopausal women as an alternative to hormonal therapy.
Comments
The hideous side effects of Pristiq, desvenlafaxine succinate SR, are being hidden from the FDA and the public. I was in the referenced menopause study.
The drug wasn’t that efficacious for hot flashes and the withdrawal was the most awful health crisis I had ever had in my entire life. I was on NO other medications and was extremely healthy. 2 months after discontinuation of the drug, I still feel bad. It took Prozac to break me out of the vertigo, headaches, and horrendous shock sensations in my head. The study doctor tried to blame it on the flu. Thank goodness I had done my own research and knew that it was discontinuation syndrome.
This god-awful drug should not be approved by the FDA.
I have been on effexor for 6 years weird dreams and the medicine is known to be one of the worst to get off of another form of a nitemare is not needed let effexor be generic for those who really need it
Effexor has the worst withdrawl symptoms- Imagine being hung over while riding the tilt-a-whirl. Don’t trust this drug company on their anti-depressants!! I wouldn’t put this or any derivative of this drug in my body again!
Because children and “depressed” women haven’t been enough of a target, now we can pathologize and medicate menopause. If big pharma is not the most misogynistic system around, then I don’t know what is.