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| |  New Antidepressant, Effexor XR, Released In Canada TORONTO, ON -- April 27, 1998 – Wyeth-Ayerst Canada Inc. has introduced its new, once-daily, extended-release Effexor® XR (venlafaxine HCl), a first-line antidepressant which has achieved better remission rates in clinical trials than two of the most commonly prescribed antidepressants in Canada -- fluoxetine and paroxetine. Results of clinical studies show Effexor XR reduced Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D) scores to reach remission levels indicative of recovery from depression. HAM-D is a commonly-used score to measure depression whereby a score less than seven is considered to be remission of symptoms. In on study, the drug was more effective than fluoxetine in achieving remission of depressive symptoms by the end of the eight-week study. Full remission occurred nearly twice as often in the Effexor XR group as it did in the fluoxetine group. A total of 295 patients took part in the placebo-controlled, double-blind study. "In these recent studies, Effexor XR did more than reduce symptoms, it has shown a significant positive impact upon remission rates," said Dr. Russell Joffe, dean and vice president, faculty of health sciences, McMaster University. "In fact, it helped patients to recover to the point that they could function quite normally." Effexor XR was also more effective than paroxetine in improving remission rates in an eight-week randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 323 outpatients. Remission rates with Effexor XR 75 mg and 150 mg were 55 percent compared with 44 percent in the paroxetine 20 mg group and 46 percent in the placebo group. The majority of patients responded to Effexor XR 75 mg once daily. The drug was significantly more effective than paroxetine 20 mg in lowering HAM-D scores at weeks one, two, four, six and eight. "Effexor has been recognised for its efficacy in the treatment of the seriously depressed and the Effexor XR once-daily gives physicians an important new option to combat depression whether its mild, moderate or severe." Effective first-line therapy is imperative because current research suggests the most commonly prescribed antidepressants fail to provide an adequate response for up to 40 percent of depressed patients. Patients who fail to respond to drug therapy either remain depressed or switch from treatment to treatment without improvement. Most critically, up to 15 percent of these patients will commit suicide. Depression is the number-two reason why Canadians visited their doctor last year. Almost 8.5 million people sought treatment for depression in 1997. More information on: Wyeth-Ayerst Inc..
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