Posted by Racer on June 12, 2004, at 12:38:33
In reply to To Chemist from BRC!!, posted by BRC on June 12, 2004, at 9:32:11
I can offer an answer to part of that question, even if it is not THE answer to it.
Why Luvox is marketed as an anti-obsessional agent, rather than an anti-depressant is because it is about marketing. Pharmaceutical companies are For Profit enterprises, no matter how much good their products may do. There are how many SSRIs available now? Sure, there are differences between them, in terms of their side effect profiles, auxilliary effects, who responds to which, etc, but they're basically all Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors. Bringing out a new one that really can't stand out in the crowd is not worthwhile from a business perspective. Calling a new SSRI an anti-obsessional agent, though, does make it stand out. Some of the other SSRIs are also considered to be quite good for obsessional thoughts, and it's even listed in some of the drug info packets as an auxilliary use for the drug. If Luvox has been found to be better than the other SSRIs for obsessionality, and not significantly better for depression, the marketing guys are going to run grinning into the board room and say, "Hey! Guess what! If you test this as an obsessional agent rather than an antidepressant, we can market it that way and REALLY CLEAN UP! Ain't that great!"
So, maybe the Luvox isn't really any better than the Lexapro -- my guess is that it really is better than Lexapro for obsessions -- but it does fill a different niche in marketing strategy and in chemical profile. I 'spect chemist will give you the chemical differences, with a good explanation, but there's the Bidness view.
poster:Racer
thread:356039
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040608/msgs/356071.html