It seems as if drug manufacturers are not very happy with antidepressant medications after halting the development of a novel antidepressant. The development of the antidepressant was stopped when researchers realized that the new drugs being made are no better than the pills that are already on the market. This has manufacturers “depressed” about not being able to create the next big thing in antidepressant medication.
According to information from Thomson Reuters Pharma, current research shows that pharmaceutical companies hoping to attain any real power in the antidepressant market are being discouraged after it was proven that the returns being made off the drug sales just aren’t what they used to be. With so many popular antidepressants’ exclusivity patents getting ready to expire soon and more recent drugs to hit the market like Astra Zeneca failing, many drug manufacturers just lost interest in developing newer drugs.
For the time being, drug makers are more interested in developing drugs that are on the cutting edge in regards to treatment options and antidepressants just aren’t seeing anything new lately. For that reason alone, it may be viewed by some manufacturers as a waste of money to create the novel antidepressant. However, some people in the field of drug development may not agree with the manufacturers’ desire to pull out of the antidepressant market. Researchers who study the brain are certain that once they understand the brain’s complete make-up where depression is concerned, better drugs to treat mental disorders can be created.
“It’s a great time for brain science, but at the same time a poor time for drug discovery for brain disorders,” says David Nutt, professor of neuropsychopharmacology at Imperial College London. “That’s an amazing paradox which we need to do something about.”
Depression treatment drugs have been getting a lot of negative attention these days as more and more patients are filing lawsuits against drug makers over the drug’s side effects. Side effects linked to antidepressants like Paxil and Effexor have been proven to cause birth defects like PPHN, oral lefts and neural tube defects in babies exposed to the drugs in-utero. Paxil has also been linked to aggressive and suicidal thoughts and behaviors in patients as well. Side effects like these just prove that newer drugs need to be created that are both safe and effective.
