Seroquel XR Approved as an Add-On Treament for Major Depressive Disorder.

The AP ( 12/4 http://tinyurl.com/seroquel-xr-mdd) reported Pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca PLC has won U.S. approval for use of its schizophrenia drug Seroquel XR as an add-on treament for major depressive disorder.  But the London-based company said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has asked for more information before allowing the drug’s use as a single agent to treat major depressive disorder, or MDD.  Seroquel XR is an extended-release version of AstraZeneca’s schizophrenia medication Seroquel, a major seller for the company. It is already approved for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.  AstraZeneca said it is evaluating the FDA’s request.  “AstraZeneca will continue discussions with the FDA and will provide a response to the agency in due course,” it said in a statement.

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Pharmaceutical company to develop triple reuptake inhibitor antidepressants.

In the Wall Street Journal (2/9) Health Blog, Jeanne Whalen wrote that pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca announced Monday that “it’s partnering with the Mayo Clinic and Virginia Tech to work on an experimental class of antidepressants known as triple reuptake inhibitors, or TRIs.” These medications “target three brain chemicals believed to be involved in depression — serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine.” Currently antidepressants “target just serotonin, or serotonin and norepinephrine.” According to Christer Köhler, vice president of global discovery research at AstraZeneca, “by adding dopamine to the mix,” pharmaceutical “makers hope to crack certain types of depression that typically don’t respond to” medication “treatment, including melancholic depression.”

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