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Measures of suicidality in phase 3 clinical trials of levomilnacipran ER in adults with major depressive disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2017

Michael E. Thase*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Carl Gommoll
Affiliation:
Allergan, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
Changzheng Chen
Affiliation:
Allergan, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
Kenneth Kramer
Affiliation:
Allergan, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
Arif Khan
Affiliation:
Northwest Clinical Research Center, Bellevue, Washington, USA Department of Psychiatry, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, North Carolina, USA
Suresh Durgam
Affiliation:
Allergan, Jersey City, New Jersey, USA
*
*Address for correspondence: Michael E. Thase, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Director, Mood and Anxiety Program, University of Pennsylvania Health System, 3535 Market Street, Mezzanine, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. (Email: thase@mail.med.upenn.edu)
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Abstract

Objective

To evaluate the effects of levomilnacipran extended-release (ER) on suicidal ideation and behavior in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD).

Methods

Post hoc analyses were conducted in patients from 4 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials and a long-term, open-label extension study of levomilnacipran ER (40-120 mg/d) in adults with MDD. Analyses included incidence of suicide-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs); incidence of Columbia–Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) suicidal ideation (score=1–5) and behavior (score=6-10); percent of patients who shifted from no C-SSRS suicidal ideation/behavior at baseline to suicidal ideation during treatment (worsened from score=0 to score=1–5), or vice-versa (improved from score=1-5 to score=0).

Results

Suicide-related TEAEs occurred in<1% of patients in the levomilnacipran ER studies. The incidence of C-SSRS suicidal ideation was 22.2%, 23.9%, and 21.7% for placebo, short-term levomilnacipran ER, and long-term levomilnacipran ER, respectively; C-SSRS suicidal behavior was<1% in all of these groups. In the short-term studies, the percentage of patients with C-SSRS shifts were as follows: worsening from score=0 to score=1–5 (placebo, 8.6%; levomilnacipran ER, 11.0%); improvement from score=1–5 to score=0 (placebo, 24.0%; levomilnacipran ER, 27.7%).

Conclusion

In adult MDD patients, the incidence of suicidal ideation and behavior was similar between placebo and short-term levomilnacipran ER as indicated by TEAE reports and C-SSRS scores. Worsening in C-SSRS scores was also similar between placebo and levomilnacipran ER. There was no indication of increased suicidality during longer courses of continued therapy. Together, these findings suggest that this medication is not associated with increased risks of suicidal ideation or behavior.

Information

Type
Original Research
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2017
Figure 0

Table 1 Patient demographics and baseline characteristics (pooled safety population)

Figure 1

Table 2 Incidence of suicidal ideation or behavior (pooled safety population and long-term safety population)

Figure 2

Figure 1 Incidence of C-SSRS suicidal ideation at study visits. Suicidal ideation was defined as a C-SSRS score of 1–5. Analyses were conducted in all patients from the pooled safety population and in a subset of younger adult patients, based on available C-SSRS assessments for each respective study visit. C-SSRS, Columbia–Suicide Severity Rating Scale; ER, extended-release.

Figure 3

Table 3 C-SSRS category shiftsa