Zyprexa and Prozac effective together

Eli Lilly has said that a combination of two of its drugs, theantidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine) and the schizophrenia drug Zyprexa (olanzapine), is more effective at reducing the symptoms of treatment-resistant depression and depression with psychotic features than either drug when used as a monotherapy.

Two studies were designed to assess the safety and efficacy of the two drugs in conbination. The first involved patients who suffered from TRD, without psychotic features, who were treated with 5-20mg/day olanzapine plus 20-60mg/day fluoxetine, or each drug with placebo. Results showed that the combination drug treatment gave a greater reduction in depressive symptoms, as measured on the Montgomery-Ashberg Depression Rating Scale, than either drug alone, and was also significantly superior to each monotherapy.

In the second study, patients with depression with psychotic features were given 5-20mg/day olanzapine plus 20-80mg/day fluoxetine, or 5-20mg/day olanzapine alone, or placebo. Results showed that the combination treatment had a statistically-significant improvement in the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale total score, compared to placebo, and also had a statistically-significantly greater proportion of patients showing an improvement of more than 50% compared to placebo and olanzapine monotherapy.