Italy's AIFA justifies Prozac ban for infants

The Italian Pharmaceutical Agency (AIFA) has issued a statement supporting its recent decision to authorize the use of Prozac (fluoxetine) in babies and children over the age of eight as not an "Italian decision or a decision of the AIFA." Instead, the agency argued that it was applying a ruling by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) that was ratified by the European Commission.

The statement added that, in contrast with other countries adopting the European position, the AIFA had taken the advice of its own technical commission (CTS) and decided to limit use of the drug to diagnostic or therapeutic applications based on treatment by neuropsychiatric or child psychology specialists.