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Remitted Depressed Patients Experience Less Sexual Dysfunction with Agomelatine (Valdoxan) than with Venlafaxine XR (Effexor XR): Presented at CPA

By Steve Pridgeon

VANCOUVER, CANADA -- November 11, 2005 -- Patients who are in remission from major depressive disorder experience fewer symptoms of sexual dysfunction if they are treated with agomelatine (Valdoxan) than with venlafaxine XR (Effexor), according to research presented here at the 55^th annual conference of the Canadian Psychiatric Association (CPA).

Agomelatine is currently undergoing phase 3 investigation, said lead investigator Sidney Kennedy MD, Professor of Psychiatry and Head, Mood and Anxiety Division, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, during a presentation on November 4^th.

Agomelatine is a novel antidepressant with melatonin agonist and 5HT2c antagonist properties. "These properties suggest that agomelatine may have a better sexual side-effect profile than Effexor," Dr. Kennedy said. "It seems to work in circadian rhythm shift as well as on the serotonin system.

Investigators conducted a 12-week, prospective, randomized, double-blind study of 276 subjects with major depressive disorder, age 18 to 65 years. The primary purpose of the study was to compare the effects of agomelatine and venlafaxine XR on sexual function, using the Sex Effects Scale (Sex FX), which Dr. Kennedy designed.

Sustained remission was defined as a score of less than 12 on the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) for at least two consecutive visits including week 10 and week 12.

At 12 weeks, 57% of the agomelatine and 60% of the venlafaxine patients were in sustained remission.

"Both [of the drugs are] equally effective in terms of their remission rates and drops in depression scales," Dr. Kennedy said in an interview. "But if you look at the sexual measures, you find that 80% of the patients on the new drug versus 59% of those on venlafaxine reported no reduction in drive or arousal."

A similar result was seen for orgasm, with 80% of agomelatine reporting no dysfunction, compared to 53% of those on venlafaxine.

Differences were seen between men and women in the study. For example, compared to baseline, men experienced significant improvement in drive/desire (P = .001) and orgasm (P = .025) with agomelatine versus venlafaxine, while women did not, although there was a near-significant improvement (P = .055).

This study was funded by Servier.


[Presentation title: A Comparison of Sexual Function in Remitted Depressed Patients Following Treatment with Agomelatine or Venlafaxine XR. Abstract P-13]

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