Posted by Scott L. Schofield on April 17, 2000, at 9:12:56
In reply to Re: Brofaromine (Consonar) or toloxatone (Humoryl) ?, posted by Rick on April 16, 2000, at 18:13:03
> Awhile back I e-mailed Dr. J.W. Jefferson of Madison, Wisconsin, who performed a study showing brofaromine's efficacy in social phobia (abstract is in Medline). I asked where it was available, having heard that it might be marketed in France. An associate of Dr. Jefferson's wrote back, saying that Dr. Jefferson informed her that brofaromine is no longer available in any country.
> It makes no sense that a no-cheese-effect MAOI which has been shown to be more effective than moclobemide would not be marketed, especially when Paxil's advertising and resultant publicity has made social phobia a big potential revenue source. Bringing it back would seem like a win-win for both the manufacturer and patients. Maybe the patent has expired, in which case the manufacturer would have to tweak brofaromine into a "new" drug snag a new patent and make a buck.
>
> Rick
> -----
Shit.Thanks for your reply. It was kind of you to take the time.
I will try to look into this. I agree with your appraisal of the marketability of such a drug. I don't understand why it would be pulled from those markets that it had already been established, unless it just didn't sell for some reason relating to efficacy or prescribing practices, or demonstrated some major safety liability. Perhaps it is capable of producing serotonin syndrome. I haven't come across anything that would indicate this, though.
Roche tried to get moclobemide approved for marketing in the U.S. for the indication of social-phobia a few years ago. I guess they figured that they had a better chance of getting it approved for a new indication. The program was discontinued. I think efficacy was an issue.
The decrease in the need to adhere to a diet when using a reversible MAOI is an appealing trait, but reversibility may diminish effectiveness as a psychotropic. Unfortunately, the RIMAs are the only available MAO inhibitors I know of that are selective for MAO-A, the enzyme that I believe is usually more important as a target for treating depression.
Do you know of any other inhibitors of MAO-A?
If you don't feel it would be an imposition, could you forward me the e-mail address of Dr. Jefferson?
My e-mail address is: sl.schofield@worldnet.att.net
Thanks.
- Scott
poster:Scott L. Schofield
thread:30218
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20000411/msgs/30322.html