World’s first pill that treats post-partum depression now on US pharmacy shelves

The world’s first pill to treat postpartum depression (PPD) is now available in the US.

The medication, brand name Zurzuvae, was approved by the FDA in August to help one in seven new mothers suffering from postpartum depression.

It is given as two pills a day for two weeks and could finally bring relief to millions of women who suffer the debilitating condition every year.

But the medicine comes with a heavy price tag – almost $16,000 before insurance – and health officials are unsure how much insurance companies will pay.

There is an injectable version of the medication, which is already available, but it must be given in the hospital over a period of 60 hours.

This version costs even more, coming in at $35,000.

A late-stage study of Zurzuvae in pill form found that women who took the medicine had significantly improved symptoms and felt better within three days compared to women who took a placebo, which lasted for at least 45 days.

Dr Katrina Furey, a Yale School of Medicine psychiatrist, said that with postpartum depression, a women ‘doesn’t have enough allopregnanolone and her GABA-A receptors aren’t firing right, which is what makes her irritable, anxious, and depressed, among other symptoms.’

The medication, called zuranolone, is one in a class of drugs that target GABA receptors in the brain using a substance called a neurosteroid.

It was designed to rapidly rebalance dysregulated brain networks responsible for functions such as mood, arousal, behavior, and cognition, to help reset brain function.

When a person is depressed, GABA and glutamate, both neurotransmitters, are thrown out of balance, affecting neuron activity.

Depression treatments typically aim to boost serotonin levels in the brain, but a growing body of research shows that the GABA pathway may be just as effective.

Zurzuvae can be obtained from specialist pharmacies across the country, which provide medications used to treat rare or complex health problems. It can also be shipped directly to patients.

Dr Kristina Deligiannidis, a professor at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York who has been the principal investigator on national multisite clinical trials that led to Zurzuvae’s approval, said: ‘Having an option like Zurzuvae that can work at Day 15 and improve symptoms in as early as three days has the potential to make a profound difference in the lives of women with PPD.

‘This milestone is hopefully a catalyst for more systemic change for women with PPD, including a much-needed increase in screening, diagnosis and treatment across physician specialties.’

Trials of the pill showed its side effects were less severe than other antidepressants currently in use, which can lead to sudden loss of consciousness, weight gain or sexual dysfunction. 

Patients must be given a prescription for the drug from their healthcare provider, who will send the prescription to a specialty pharmacy.

The patient’s OB/GYN, midwife or family practice provider can prescribe the treatment without consulting or referring to a psychiatrist. 

The specialty pharmacy will then contact the patient to confirm the prescription, insurance coverage, and benefit eligibility.

Then the prescription will be shipped directly to you.

The Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health said it believes insurance companies and state Medicaid agencies will cover Zurzuvae because it is the only drug of its kind.

However, it said that it was concerned that the insurer may require women to have tried antidepressants first.

Massachusetts-based drugmakers Sage Therapeutics and Biogen said they have launched a patient support program, Zurzuvae For You.

It includes financial assistance through the means of a copay assistance program, as well as medication for free for people who are eligible. 

PPD is a medical condition many women are struck down with after having a baby.

It involves intense feelings of sadness, anxiety and exhaustion that usually begin two to three days after the birth and can last months. 

Other symptoms include insomnia, loss of appetite, intense irritability, and difficulty bonding with the baby.

In rare cases, an extreme disorder called postpartum psychosis may also develop after having a child. 

Existing treatment includes typical antidepressant treatment or talking therapy, but traditional antidepressants can take weeks to kick in.

The condition affects around 10 million American women and has strong links to suicide after childbirth.

Suicide is the leading cause of death in the postpartum period, according to studies.

Lindsay Clancy, 32, from Duxbury in Massachusetts, admitted to strangling her three kids Cora, five, Dawson, three and Callan, eight months, to death before attempting to take her own life after suffering post-partum psychosis. 

Mrs Clancy, who worked as a midwife, was reportedly suffering from post-partum depression, anxiety and psychosis.

Former Victoria’s Secret model Chrissy Teigen has also admitted to suffering postpartum depression after the birth of her first child, saying the months following childbirth were a ‘sad existence.’

It comes as a major new research paper that advises women to swap medication for exercise to treat postpartum depression has sparked outrage among women’s health experts. 

The newly published analysis, by researchers at the China University of Geosciences, claimed to prove doing exercise like running at least twice a week is more effective than traditional treatments.