Forest Labs Wins FDA Approval to Sell Depression Drug Celexa
Bloomberg News
July 20, 1998, 7:23 a.m. PT
Forest Labs Wins FDA Approval to Sell Depression Drug Celexa
New York, July 20 (Bloomberg) -- Forest Laboratories Inc.
said it won U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for a
depression treatment that's become a top seller in Europe and
elsewhere.
Celexa is part of a class of drugs known as selective
serotonin reuptake inhibitors which include Eli Lilly & Co.'s
Prozac, one of the world's best-selling drugs. The U.S. market
for antidepressants is expected to reach $6 billion this year,
Forest said.
Forest, which sells both brand-name and generic drugs, will
co-promote Celexa, also known as citalopram, with Warner-Lambert
Co. in the U.S.
''The European experience suggests that many doctors prefer
Celexa,'' said Howard Solomon, president of New York-based
Forest, in a statement.
Forest shares rose 2 to 39 15/16 in recent trading, while
shares of Morris Plains, New Jersey-based Warner-Lambert, maker
of the cholesterol-lowering drug Lipitor, rose 3 11/16 to 83 1/4.
Earlier, Warner-Lambert said its second-quarter profit rose 46
percent.
Analysts are split on how well Forest's entry will do in the
multibillion dollar antidepressant market.
Some say it's arriving too late in a market that's already
seen strong entries from powerhouse drugmakers including Lilly,
Pfizer Inc. and SmithKline Beecham Plc. Other analysts point to
the drug's success overseas, where it's become the top selling
antidepressant in 13 countries. After hitting the market in
Denmark nine years ago, it's become the top seller there,
outselling Prozac more than three to one.
Shares of Lilly, which relies on Prozac for 30 percent of
its sales, rose 1/16 to 67 5/8.
Celexa's most common side effects are nausea, dry mouth and
sleepiness, Forest said. It was originally developed by the
Danish drugmaker H. Lundbeck A/S.
Pfizer Inc. and SmithKline Beecham Plc also sell leading
antidepressant drugs. Their drugs, like Prozac and Celexa, work
by regulating the body's processing of the brain chemical
serotonin, a key player in neurological functions such as mood.
--Kristin Jensen in the Washington newsroom (202) 624-1843 with |
