Strong Ph III data for Wyeth's desvenlafaxine

The USA's Wyeth Pharmaceuticals presented Phase III data and results from other studies concerning its investigational drug for major depressive disorder, desvenlafaxine (DVS-233), a novel serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor at the 2006 American Psychiatric Association Annual Meeting in Toronto, Canada, which showed significant reduction in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D17) scores with 100mg (p=0.0038) and 400mg (p=0.0023) of desvenlafaxine versus placebo, in 461 adult patients with major depressive disorder. However, the agent also caused significant nausea side effects, which has made investors wary of the results.