Pharma giant Sage Therapeutics has priced the oral postpartum depression (PPD) pill it developed with partner Biogen at $15 900 for a full 14-day course of treatment, the company said this week, months after the drug was approved by the US health regulator.
The companies had sought approval for Zurzuvae to treat clinical depression, a much larger market, and postpartum depression, but in August, the US Food and Drug Administration approved it only for PPD, reports Reuters.
Zurzuvae is the first oral pill for the condition that affects one in seven mothers after childbirth. The intravenous PDD treatment Zulresso, also made by Sage, costs $34 000 a year.
Zurzuvae is expected to be commercially available for women with PPD in December.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
FDA approves first postpartum depression pill
FDA’s first approval of a drug to treat postpartum depression
Perinatal depression: mums, dads, babies all at risk – London meta-analysis