The antidepressant drug Brintellix helps as well as other, more common preparations.
In addition, it does not affect sex drive to the same extent.
Despite this, doctors are not recommended to prescribe Brintellix – mainly because of economic reasons.
– Healthcare cannot really afford to do everything it could do. Then we have to prioritize, says Mikael Tiger, chief physician and associate professor of psychiatry at the Karolinska Institute.
More than one million Swedes take antidepressants, and only in Stockholm were prescribed for just over SEK 175 million during 2023.
The most common drug group is SSRI, which extends serotonin’s action time and helps with depression and obsessive -compulsive disorder and various anxiety syndrome as panic syndrome.
But the single largest cost is the relatively new drug Brintellix-despite the fact that only 6-8 percent of patients have it as the first choice.
The preparation helps just as well against depression as SSRI and generally has fewer side effects.
But the big ace in the rock sleeve is that the sexual side effects, the sexual desire itself, are affected to a lesser extent compared to SSRI.
– It can sometimes be an important difference and that is the big selling point, says Mikael Tiger.
Only approved for treatment for depression
Brintellix is currently only approved for treatment for depression, unlike SSRI, which also helps with, among other things, anxiety disorder such as panic syndrome and social phobia.
The drug is also not included in Wise the list’s recommendations Over treatments for depression, which may explain why few know it.
Another reason is the cost, as the preparation is about ten times as expensive as SSRI.
– Most doctors want a satisfied patient. But at the same time, the doctor has a responsibility to weave in a cost economic thinking, says Mikael Tiger.
“Then the equation will be different”
Mikael Tiger is also a member of the Stockholm Medicines Committee, which works for a safe, rational and cost -effective use of medicines.
At the moment, they do not recommend Brintellix – but he opens up that it can change if the price of it today patent -protected drug drops.
– Then the equation can be different, with a different decision basis, says Mikael Tiger.
The surveyor’s recommendation
Although Brintellix has its advantages, Mikael Tiger recommends SSRIs as the first choice for those in need of antidepressants.
– Partly because it is cheaper and partly because it is wider. It is often quite difficult to know what you need most. Say that you feel very bad and so maybe there is a social phobia that is an important part of it. Then you will probably be helped by SSRI in both cases, but not by Brintellix in the same way, he says.