Depression, on the other hand, is a veritable cash cow among mental-health conditions. There are, after all, only so many people in the world who have schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. We totally get why Bristol-Myers Squibb is doing this. And, Abilify costs around 45 times as much per month as many antidepressants. In two studies sponsored by the manufacturer, 25 percent of patients who added Abilify to their antidepressant drug experienced akathisia (inner restlessness and urge to move around), compared to 4 percent of patients taking an antidepressant plus a placebo. But it still carries some risk of those, as well as of restlessness, decreased white blood-cell count, and a condition called tardive dyskinesia, or involuntary repetitive movements of the limbs and body that can become permanent. Abilify's popularity hinges partly on the fact that it may be less likely to cause certain side effects, such as weight gain and elevated blood-sugar levels, than other drugs in its class, such as olanzapine (Zyprexa). It's a member of a class of drugs known as atypical (or "newer") antipsychotics, which have different-and in some cases, more serious-side effects than the SSRI antidepressants (which have plenty of safety concerns of their own). But Abilify isn't just another antidepressant. It's not the commercial itself that we find frightening watch it and you'd swear that it's just another antidepressant ad. We chose Abilify for this seventh edition of our AdWatch series because, frankly, the ad scares us. Food and Drug Administration for that use.īMS is promoting the depression indication in print ads and in the ubiquitous TV commercial critiqued in the video at right. It's the first antipsychotic medicine approved by the U.S. Originally approved for treating schizophrenia and soon after that, bipolar disorder, Abilify hit the real jackpot in late 2007 when it won approval as an add-on treatment for people with major depression who haven't gotten adequate relief from taking an antidepressant alone. ![]() ![]() ![]() Now Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) is tapping into that vast market with an aggressive advertising campaign for Abilify (aripiprazole), its blockbuster antipsychotic medication. American doctors wrote more than 164 million prescriptions for antidepressants in 2008, making it the third most-prescribed of any class of drugs.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |