New Super-Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor Cipralex (Escitalopram), Shows Superior Antidepressant Effect

Tolerability and Speed of Effect Which May Be Explained By This Antidepressant's Unique Pharmacological Mode of Action, Study Shows.


An analysis of randomised clinical trials shows consistently better efficacy with escitalopram than with the conventional SSRI, citalopram, including higher rates of response and remission, and faster time to symptom relief.


Novel antidepressant escitalopram has a unique pharmacological mode of action, which may explain the superior results observed in patients to date compared to a benchmark SSRI, a study published today has revealed.


The review, published in Psychopharmacology, outlines the collated results of numerous pre-clinical and clinical studies into escitalopram, and concludes that the superior results observed are partly due to the absence of a molecule (the R-enantiomer) in the drug, which had previously been inhibiting the action of the conventional SSRI, citalopram.


?°Developing escitalopram without the R-enantiomer has really unleashed the true potential of the drug and positions it as unique within the SSRI class,?± said Connie Sanchez, study author and Senior Research Scientist at Lundbeck A/S. ?°This study explores the fascinating and novel mechanism of action of escitalopram and its subsequent ability to target depression and anxiety effectively. It is pleasing that the real-world clinical experience of escitalopram observed by doctors and patients to date is confirming evidence provided by basic research,?± she concluded.


The review paper refers to data comparing escitalopram with citalopram, which demonstrates significant differences (p??0.05) in favour of escitalopram on the primary efficacy endpoint (the change in MADRS1 total score, which measures depression severity), and on another depression severity rating scale, the CGI S2 scale, as well as in the proportion of patients responding to treatment, and achieving remission.


In terms of tolerability and safety, citalopram is known ?C from randomised clinical trials and the experience of prescribing physicians ?C to be a safe and well-tolerated SSRI. Even here though, a study included in the review shows that the percentage of patients withdrawing due to adverse events was lower with escitalopram compared to citalopram, and in an analysis of the moderately ill patients, statistically significantly more patients (p