Study of mental health outcomes associated with different brands of venlafaxine at the Kumeu medical centre from January 2017 to October 2018
Open Access
- 1 January 2020
- journal article
- research article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology
Abstract
The antidepressant venlafaxine has been available in New Zealand for two decades and is funded by the New Zealand Drug Purchasing Agency PHARMAC. This audit aimed to determine whether change to a different funded generic formulation of venlafaxine affected patient responses to venlafaxine. A retrospective review of patient records for all patients at Kumeu Medical Centre, Auckland, New Zealand who received a prescription for venlafaxine since January 2017 was performed. Outcomes for patients who had experienced a stable positive clinical response to either of the two previously funded venlafaxine formulations and who were switched to the newly funded formulation were summarised. Of 49 patients who had been prescribed venlafaxine, 34 patients were excluded; 15 patients had experienced a stable positive clinical response to either of the two previously funded venlafaxine formulations and switched to the newly funded formulation. Of these, 12 (80%) had poor outcomes following the change in venlafaxine formulation. Nine patients switched back to the original brand venlafaxine and showed improvement in clinical symptoms. These cases, reported from a single general practice, should be sufficient to call attention to the possibility of loss of effectiveness for patients treated with a funded generic brand of venlafaxine, and the need for further research.Keywords
This publication has 20 references indexed in Scilit:
- An Evaluation of Health Service Impacts Consequent to Switching from Brand to Generic Venlafaxine in New Zealand under Conditions of Price NeutralityValue in Health, 2015
- The Comparison of Brand-Name and Generic Formulations of VenlafaxineTherapeutic Drug Monitoring, 2014
- Venlafaxine pharmacokinetics focused on drug metabolism and potential biomarkersDrug Metabolism and Drug Interactions, 2014
- Switching from Brand‐Name to Generic Psychotropic Medications: A Literature ReviewCNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics, 2010
- Placebo interventions for all clinical conditionsEmergencias, 2010
- Comparison of Pharmacokinetic Profiles of Brand-Name and Generic Formulations of Citalopram and VenlafaxinePublished by Physicians Postgraduate Press, Inc ,2009
- Acceptability of Second-Step Treatments to Depressed Outpatients: A STAR*D ReportAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 2007
- Tranylcypromine Versus Venlafaxine Plus Mirtazapine Following Three Failed Antidepressant Medication Trials for Depression: A STAR*D ReportAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 2006
- Evaluation of Outcomes With Citalopram for Depression Using Measurement-Based Care in STAR*D: Implications for Clinical PracticeAmerican Journal of Psychiatry, 2006
- Venlafaxine Extended-ReleaseCNS Drugs, 2001