Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms for pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that surveyed psychiatrists identify a therapy's effect on decrease in severity of depressive symptoms as the attribute that most influences their prescribing decisions in bipolar depression. Clinical data and the opinions of interviewed thought leaders indicate that current and emerging therapies have no advantage in this attribute over AstraZeneca's Seroquel, the sales-leading agent in the market.

The new report entitled Bipolar Depression: Despite Negative Results, Physicians Still Hopeful About Aripiprazole also finds that an oral therapy that carries a lower risk of weight gain than Seroquel would earn a 21 percent patient share in bipolar depression in the United States and a 30 percent patient share in Europe, according to surveyed U.S. and European psychiatrists. The report also finds that, despite the failure of Bristol-Myers Squibb/Otsuka Pharmaceutical's Abilify (aripiprazole) in bipolar depression clinical trials, most interviewed thought leaders believe that Abilify is still an efficacious therapy for bipolar depression.

In 2008, Decision Resources' proprietary clinical gold standard for bipolar depression was lamotrigine (GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal, generics). Based on available data and expert opinion, lamotrigine will retain gold standard status through 2017. While some therapies in development for bipolar depression hold promise, most have efficacy, safety and tolerability, and/or delivery features that are inferior when compared with lamotrigine.

"Owing to its efficacy and tolerability advantages, lamotrigine edged out Seroquel, its closest competitor, to become the clinical gold standard," said Decision Resources Analyst Sandra Chow, M.Sc. "Despite its slow onset of action, interviewed thought leaders were particularly impressed with lamotrigine's side-effect profile and better evidence of efficacy as a long term mood stabilizer."

About the Report

Bipolar Depression: Despite Negative Results, Physicians Still Hopeful About Aripiprazole is a DecisionBase 2009 report. DecisionBase 2009 is a decision-support tool that provides in-depth analysis of unmet need, physician expectations of new therapies and commercial dynamics to help pharmaceutical companies optimize their investments in drug development.

The report can be purchased by contacting Decision Resources. Members of the media may request an interview with an analyst.

Source: Decision Resources

View drug information on Abilify; Lamictal; Seroquel.