Lexapro Medication Lowers Its Authority
Lexapro (Escitalopram Drug) has been considered to be an effective antipsychotic medicine for treatment of MDD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). According to the updated information by Decision Resources Lexapro drug is no more the main choice for the treatment of major depression.
The new research compared the third-line patient share that has grown from 11.8 percent to 17.1 percent since last year’s report. It is explained by the FDA approval of Bristol-Myers Squibb/Otsuka’s Abilify and the expected upcoming FDA approval of AstraZeneca’s Seroquel XR.
Michael Malecki, Ph.D., analyst at Decision Resources , one of the world’s leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, suggested that AstraZeneca’s Seroquel captures more patient share in the third line though it is not yet approved by FDA for major depression.
Another drug for major depression is Wyeth’s Pristiq. As Dr. Malecki said the physicians marked the better reimbursement of this medicine and greater familiarity with Effexor XR. And Wyeth company intends to move patients from Effexor XR to Pristiq over the next couple of years.
Thus, Lexapro tablets may have lost its first-line dominance. The main reasons of this change is the increasing frequency of step therapy restrictions requiring patients to first try therapy with citalopram before being reimbursed for Lexapro medication.
