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The expert panel assembled to review the safety of SSRIs, used in the treatment of depression, has been dissolved and a new team will be appointed. The decision means further delays for the results of the study and ongoing questions as to the safety of the SSRIs.
The UK's Department of Health (DoH) has issued a statement to confirm that the expert working group assembled to review the safety of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) has been dissolved. The decision follows reports suggesting that two members of the expert panel hold shares in GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
The expert group was assembled by an independent advisory body, the Committee on the Safety of Medicines (CSM), following increasing pressure from patient advocacy groups who believed the 'soaring' number of serious side effects associated with SSRIs warranted investigation.
The SSRIs include drugs such as Cipramil (citalopram), Prozac (fluoxetine), Faverin (fluvoxamine), Paxil (paroxetine) and Lustral (sertraline), each with annual sales worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Although regarded as having a superior side effect profile to older antidepressants such as the tricyclic antidepressants, the issue of withdrawal symptoms, possible dependence and suicidality has overshadowed the SSRIs and been the subject of much media attention.
GSK's Paxil, worth $3.1 billion, has been at the center of this controversy and faces several lawsuits alleging it can cause severe withdrawal reactions. GSK maintains that the medicine is safe, effective and non-addictive.
The panel has met several times since its assembly, and was considering all available data on SSRIs before providing recommendations to the CSM - the results of which were expected early in the year. The recent revelations have led solicitors representing patients to claim that the original review panel could not represent an independent view.
These arguments have left the DoH with little choice but to announce that it is planning to appoint a new expert panel to conduct the review. However, the decision means further delays for the completion of the review and ongoing questions as to the safety of the SSRIs - in particular GSK's Paxil.
Related research: Datamonitor, "Strategic Perspectives: Commercial Opportunities in Depression" (DMHC 1848)
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