New depression treatment launched in the UK
pharmafile | February 3, 2005 | News story | Sales and Marketing |Â Â Â
Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim's depression treatment Cymbalta has been launched in the UK where it will do battle in the competitive antidepressant market.
Cymbalta (duloxetine hydrochloride) received EU approval to treat major depressive episodes and aims to capture a slice of the lucrative European market, where an estimated 60 million people suffer from depression.
Its main competitor is expected to be Wyeth's Efexor (venlafaxine), the only other SNRI (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor) and the number one selling antidepressant, recording global sales of $3.3 billion last year.
As a dual SNRI Cymbalta differs in action from SSRIs like GSK's Seroxat and, according to Lilly, is unique in its ability to treat both the emotional and physical symptoms of depression.
Cymbalta's safety and efficacy were tested in a relapse prevention study and four clinical trials involving 6,000 adults with depression.
Therapeutic benefit was reported within one week of therapy initiation and demonstrated improvements in sleep, genital, and non-painful somatic symptoms as the trials progressed.
But according to analysts Datamonitor, compared to Efexor, Cymbalta lacks sufficient clinical data, which may scare off physicians from switching patients to the new compound without evidence of therapeutic benefits.
The drug, tipped to earn $2 billion by 2008, was launched last year in the US for the treatment of depression and diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, recording sales of around $93 million.
In 2002, Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim signed a long-term agreement to jointly develop and commercialise Cymbalta and Lilly hopes it will be as successful as Prozac, its former blockbuster antidepressant.
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