US approves 1st pill to treat postpartum depression – 05/08/2023 – Health
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The agency that regulates and oversees food and medicine in the United States approved this Friday (4), for the first time, a pill for the treatment of postpartum depression. It is estimated that the condition annually affects about half a million women in the country.
The antidepressant drug, called zuranolone, is the first oral medication indicated to treat postpartum depression (PPD), according to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). “Until now, treatment for PPD has only been available as an intravenous injection by a healthcare professional in some centers.”
Asima Ahmad, medical director at Carrot Fertility Health Center in Menlo Park, Calif., said that about 1 in 8 women experience symptoms of PPD. And, she adds, among those who report symptoms, 75% do not receive treatment.
Developed specifically to treat the condition, the pill has been shown to work faster than other antidepressants and must be taken for two weeks. Tests showed less severe side effects than other antidepressants currently used.
Chief of Psychiatry at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, Tiffany Farchione, said PPD “is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition in which a woman experiences sadness, guilt, feelings of worthlessness and, in severe cases, thoughts of harming herself or the baby”.
Developed by Sage Therapeutics, the pill will be marketed under the name Zurzuvae and its price has not yet been announced.
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