Introduction

The treatment strategy of major depressive disorder (MDD) is changing. As primary care physicians gain more experience with antidepressants, referrals, principally to psychiatrists, are decreasing. Moreover, patients who are being referred have normally been prescribed, and not responded to, two appropriate MDD treatments. Hence, referred patents are usually treatment refractory. 

Scope

Basded on interviews with 220 psychiatrists from across the seven major markets 

Analysis of treatment strategies, including factors affecting drug choice, switching strategy and treatment length 

Detailed profiles of antidepressants, their prescription trends across the seven major markets, and physician perceptions of each drug 

Key data and analysis of combination therapy - rate of drugs used and the patient segments to which they are prescribed 

Report Highlights

Datamonitor’s interviewed psychiatrists rated drug efficacy level as the key unmet need in MDD, but improving this parameter is difficult because of the complexity of antidepressant’s therapeutic action. However, there is some scope to widen the symptoms that antidepressants treat by manufacturing drugs that interact with additional receptors 

Combination therapy is an effective strategy to treat various symptoms associated with MDD. Antipsychotics are often combined with antidepressants, with Lilly’s Zyprexa (olanzapine) being the most commonly used, in 8.1% of MDD patients. 

Reasons to Purchase

Enhance your knowledge of the antidepressant market by understanding how physicians perceive specific drugs 

Target diagnosing specialists and drug prescribers by using Datamonitor primary data on diagnosing specialists and referral rates 

Understand the market unmet needs to devise market-penetrating strategies 

Publisher: Datamonitor CNS Central Nervous System Reports 

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