Boehringer Ingelheim's duloxetine addresses emotional symptoms and pain in depression trial

German drugmaker Boehringer Ingelheim says a once-daily 60mg dose of the antidepressant duloxetine, which is currently sold as Cymbalta in the USA by development partner Eli Lilly (Marketletter March 5), reduced both non-specific pain and emotional symptoms associated with depression. The findings were presented at the 15th European Congress of Psychiatry in Madrid, Spain.

Trial examines range of symptoms

The conclusion is based on the results of an eight-week, placebo-controlled assessment of the compound in 327 adult patients, suffering from major depression with moderate pain. Study participants, all of whom were outpatients aged 18 years or older, either received 60mg of the drug on a daily basis, or placebo.