WASHINGTON (AP) – United States (US) federal health officials have approved the first pill specifically intended to treat severe depression after childbirth, a condition that affects thousands of new mothers in the US each year.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Friday granted approval of the drug, Zurzuvae, for adults experiencing severe depression related to childbirth or pregnancy. The pill is taken once a day for 14 days.
“Having access to an oral medication will be a beneficial option for many of these women coping with extreme, and sometimes life-threatening, feelings,” said FDA’s director of psychiatric drugs Dr Tiffany Farchione in a statement.
Postpartum depression affects an estimated 400,000 people a year, and while it often ends on its own within a couple weeks, it can continue for months or even years. Standard treatment includes counseling or antidepressants, which can take weeks to work and don’t help everyone.
The new pill is from Sage Therapeutics, which has a similar infused drug that’s given intravenously over three days in a medical facility.
The FDA approved that drug in 2019, though it isn’t widely used because of its USD34,000 price tag and the logistics of administering it.
The FDA’s pill approval is based on two company studies that showed women who took Zurzuvae had fewer signs of depression over a four- to six-week period when compared with those who received a dummy pill.
The benefits, measured using a psychiatric test, appeared within three days for many patients.
