COLLEGEVILLE, Pa., May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth , announced today that PRISTIQ(TM) (desvenlafaxine), a new serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI) approved to treat adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), is now available in U.S. retail pharmacies nationwide. The recommended dose of PRISTIQ is 50 milligrams (mg) once daily. The Company begins full-scale selling and educational efforts regarding PRISTIQ for physicians this week.
"We are proud to make PRISTIQ available as a new treatment option for the millions of American adults who struggle with depression," comments Philip Ninan, M.D., Vice President, Wyeth Medical Affairs, Neuroscience. "The recommended therapeutic dose of PRISTIQ is 50 mg once daily. Titration is not required to reach the recommended therapeutic dose." Dosage adjustment (50 mg every other day) is necessary, however, in patients with severe renal impairment or end-stage renal disease.
About PRISTIQ
PRISTIQ, an SNRI approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on February 29, 2008, is an important new treatment option for the millions of adults in the United States who have MDD. Discovered and developed by Wyeth, PRISTIQ demonstrates the Company's significant and continued commitment to developing new therapies in the field of neuroscience.
At the recommended dose of 50 mg, the discontinuation rate due to an adverse experience for PRISTIQ (4.1 percent) was similar to the rate for placebo (3.8 percent) in clinical studies. The most commonly observed adverse reactions in patients taking PRISTIQ for MDD in short-term, fixed-dose studies (incidence greater than or equal to 5 percent and at least twice the rate of placebo in the 50 mg dose groups) were nausea, dizziness, hyperhidrosis, constipation and decreased appetite.
About Major Depressive Disorder
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common mental disorder, affecting about 121 million people worldwide. In the United States, MDD affects approximately 15 million adults, or 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. In fact, depression is among the leading causes of disability and the fourth leading contributor to the global burden of disease. Further, a research study estimated that the total economic burden of depression was $83.1 billion in 2000, including direct treatment costs and suicide- and work-related costs.
For full prescribing information for PRISTIQ, please go to www.Pristiq.com.
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division of Wyeth, has leading products in the areas of women's health care, infectious disease, gastrointestinal health, central nervous system, inflammation, transplantation, hemophilia, oncology, vaccines and nutritional products.
Wyeth is one of the world's largest research-driven pharmaceutical and health care products companies. It is a leader in the discovery, development, manufacturing and marketing of pharmaceuticals, vaccines, biotechnology products, nutritionals and non-prescription medicines that improve the quality of life for people worldwide. The Company's major divisions include Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Consumer Healthcare and Fort Dodge Animal Health.
The statements in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. In particular, there can be no assurance that PRISTIQ will be commercially successful in the highly competitive market for antidepressants in the United States, or that PRISTIQ will be approved in the future for other indications (including treatment of vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause) and/or in other countries. Other risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the inherent uncertainty of the timing and success of, and expense associated with, research, development, regulatory approval and commercialization of our products and pipeline products; government cost-containment initiatives; restrictions on third-party payments for our products; substantial competition in our industry, including from branded and generic products; emerging data on our products and pipeline products; the importance of strong performance from our principal products and our anticipated new product introductions; the highly regulated nature of our business; product liability, intellectual property and other litigation risks and environmental liabilities; uncertainty regarding our intellectual property rights and those of others; difficulties associated with, and regulatory compliance with respect to, manufacturing of our products; risks associated with our strategic relationships; economic conditions including interest and currency exchange rate fluctuations; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; trade buying patterns; the impact of legislation and regulatory compliance; risks and uncertainties associated with global operations and sales; and other risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in our periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our current reports on Form 8-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and annual report on Form 10-K, particularly the discussion under the caption "Item 1A, Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 29, 2008. The forward-looking statements in this press release are qualified by these risk factors. We assume no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
CONTACT: Media Contacts: Gwen Fisher of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals,
+1-484-865-5160; or Douglas Petkus of Wyeth, +1-973-660-5218, or Investor
Contact: Justin Victoria of Wyeth, +1-973-660-5340
Web site: http://www.wyeth.com/
http://www.Pristiq.com/
