Postpartum depression pill approved by FDA

BOSTON - The FDA announced Friday that it has approved the first oral treatment for postpartum depression.

Postpartum depression affects about 15% of people in the weeks and months after giving birth and can be debilitating, life-threatening, and difficult to treat. Until now the only drug approved for the condition had to be administered intravenously. But the FDA has just approved a pill called zuranolone by drugmakers Sage Therapeutics and Biogen, which functions as a brain hormone to help smooth out hormonal shifts that often occur after delivery.

It's given daily for two weeks, and unlike other antidepressants that can take several weeks to kick in, this drug can reduce symptoms within a few days, and in clinical trials about 70% of women were significantly better by the end of the treatment window.

Does it last?

It looks like it might. In clinical trials, most women did not experience a return of their symptoms at least a month after the two-week treatment window. Side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, diarrhea, and suicidal thoughts in some women, so it's not for everyone. It's expected to hit the mark in a few months if it passes a full drug review. 

In:
• FDA

Mallika Marshall, MD

Mallika Marshall, MD is an Emmy-award-winning journalist and physician who has served as the HealthWatch Reporter for CBS Boston/WBZ-TV for over 20 years. A practicing physician Board Certified in both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics, Dr. Marshall serves on staff at Harvard Medical School and practices at Massachusetts General Hospital at the MGH Chelsea Urgent Care and the MGH Revere Health Center, where she is currently working on the frontlines caring for patients with COVID-19. She is also a host and contributing editor for Harvard Health Publications (HHP), the publishing division of Harvard Medical School.

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