AstraZeneca Trials Drug to Tap into $16bn Depression Market

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AstraZeneca Trials Drug to Tap into $16bn Depression Market

(March 21, 2007) -- AstraZeneca, the British drugs giant, is testing Seroquel, its blockbuster antipsychotic drug on patients with depression, in a move that could see the drug’s $3.4bn (£1.7bn, E2.6bn) sales increase by 50%.

Seroquel has already been approved for use in treating schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but AstraZeneca is now aiming to file the drug to treat depression.

There are currently seven trials investigating whether the drug can treat major depression effectively, with another five looking at its effects on general anxiety disorder. AstraZeneca is testing Seroquel as a single treatment for depression and anxiety, and in combination with antidepressants.

A source at the company told The Business that trials have gone well so far. The company intends to file Seroquel with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for depression and anxiety in 2008. If the authorities approve it, it would be the first atypical antipsychotic to be licensed to treat depression.

If the FDA and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) were to decide it can be used to treat patients suffering from depression, it would be able to break into a $16bn market.

More than 19m patients worldwide have used Seroquel since its launch in 1997. AstraZeneca is seeking to find new uses for the drug because it faces challenges to the patent from generics firm Teva Pharmaceuticals.

The company has also been experimenting with a “sustained release” formula for the drug, which would take effect more quickly than the current version.

Initial reports suggest the new formulation, which only has to be taken once a day, is as effective at treating schizophrenia as the current dosage of two or three times daily. The patent for the new formulation will run until 2017.

AstraZeneca is also being sued in the US for not adequately warning of Seroquel’s possible side effects. The lawsuits claim Seroquel increases risk of developing diabetes – like other atypical antipsychotics such as Eli Lilly’s Zyprexa.

Lilly has paid out around £600m to settle some 28,000 lawsuits related to Zyprexa. AstraZeneca has also been asked to prove that it did not encourage Seroquel being prescribed to treat conditions it was not licensed for.

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Seroquel acts on the dopamine receptors in the brain associated with schizophrenia, and also on the serotonin and 5-HT receptors associated with depression. Its proven side effects include sedation and weight gain.

By: Catherine Boyle
Source: The Business

Last updated: 03/07

AstraZeneca Trials Drug to Tap into $16bn Depression Market

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