August 4, 2023
In a historic move – the FDA just approved the first ever pill specifically to treat postpartum depression.
Until now – the FDA says the only approved treatment for PPD was an IV injection, given by a health care provider in certain health care facilities. But with this pill approval, experts say having something more accessible and specific to treat postpartum available for struggling women may help reduce the stigma around it. About half a million women in this country suffer from postpartum depression every single year.
The new pill is called Zurzuve and according to the clinical trials showed the pill works quickly, beginning to ease depression in as little as three days, significantly faster than general antidepressants, which can take two weeks or longer to have an effect. That — along with the fact that the pill is taken for just two weeks, not for months — may encourage more patients to accept treatment, according to mental health experts.
The company that makes Zurzuve, Sage therapeutics says the pill should be available after the drug enforcement administration completes a 90-day review required for all drugs that affect the central nervous system. We don’t know yet what the Zurzuve will cost.
Read the approval from the FDA here.
