Desvenlafaxine succinate for the treatment of major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) remains one of the most common psychiatric disorders with high morbidity and mortality. Effective treatment is limited and response/remission to antidepressant pharmacotherapy remains poor and unpredictable. The development of new antidepressants is thus of great importance to the field. Desvenlafaxine succinate (DVS) is the active metabolite of the serotonin and noradrenaline re-uptake inhibitor venlafaxine and was recently FDA approved for the treatment of MDD. DVS showed efficacy in clinical trials in MDD with doses ranging from 50 - 400 mg. Advantages compared to other antidepressants include once daily dosing at effective doses, no CYP450 metabolism and low drug-drug interactions. Concerns include side effect profile and moderate efficacy. DVS might be a useful addition to the arsenal of antidepressants available to the clinician. Additional studies, in particular head-to-head comparison to other antidepressants and long-term treatment studies, will be necessary to comprehensively evaluate DVS safety and efficacy for clinical practice.