NEWS - FDA panel snubs Seroquel as 1st choice depression treatment

[Guest guest]

FDA Panel Snubs Seroquel as 1st Choice Depression Treatment

Forbes

07 Apr 2009, 08:00 PM EDT

WEDNESDAY, April 8 (HealthDay News) -- In a unanimous vote, a U.S.

Food and Drug Administration advisory panel determined Wednesday that

AstraZeneca ( AZN - news - people )'s antipsychotic drug Seroquel has

too many safety concerns to make it a first-line treatment against

depression or anxiety disorders.

However, in a separate 6-to-3 vote, the panelists recommended that the

medication could be used as supplemental treatment for patients with

depression who do not get symptom relief from other drugs, the

Associated Press reported. The expert panel did not hold a similar

vote for anxiety disorders.

Overall, " I saw no clear advantage demonstrated in efficacy, " said Dr.

Wayne Goodman, the panel's chairman and a psychiatric researcher at

the U.S. National Institutes of Health. " There were side effects, and

I would expect unintended consequences associated with wide-scale use

of the drug. "

*************************************************

Read the full article here:

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/hscout/2009/04/08/hscout625921.html

Not an MD