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Mood Elevation
An estimated 46 million Americans between the ages of 15 and 34 suffer from depressive episodes annually, with about one-third of the group encountering chronic depression (cases that persist for more than two years).
The common thread between mood elevation and appetite supression may be elevated serotonin levels.
Prozac is also indicated for treating obsessive compulsive disorder and bulimia and is available in 10- and 20- mg capsules as well as in a liquid formula. Lilly officials say that because the new 10-mg green tablet version can be divided in half, physicians will have improved dosing convenience.
Bristol Myers Squibb Co., for example noted that its drug Serzone (nefazodone) has been found to be effective in treating chronic depression when used in combination with psychotherapy. Serzone brought in an estimated $257 million in sales last year in the $6 billion antidepressant market. The company notes that the drug also minimizes such effects as anxiety, sexual dysfunction and sleeping problems.
*Chain Drug Review Vol. 21 No. 11 1999-06-28 No Author
SSRI's set to boom in Euro depression market . Sales of antidepressants in Western Europe were valued at $1.80 billion in 1997 and are expected to reach $3.57 billion by 2004.
In terms of product types, the percentage share of revenues accruing from sales of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, including Eli Lilly's Prozac (fluoxetine) and SmithKline Beecham's Seroxat (paraxetine), will grow significantly, up from 77.2% at present to 86.2% by 2004. Prozac and Seroxat are about to reach the end of their patent lives, thereby unleashing a dynamic market period, says the study. The considerable growth expected to characterize the SSRI segment over the forecast period implies that the sales of tricyclic and tetracyclic antidepressants will represent a progressively decreasing percentage on the market.
An interesting development in the marketplace is the acceptance of products based on herbal remedies for use by physicians and which have government reimbursement in Germany. The German experience could herald massive opportunities for local entrepreneurial pharmaceutical manufacturers to attempt internalization of their markets, particularly in view of the growing acceptance of over-the-counter "natural" medicines. This, says F&S, presents an opportunity, provided that both the treatment and cost benefits of this therapy are communicated.
*Marketletter 1999-01-25 |
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