Lundbeck’s Brintellix OKed in Europe for adults with depression

The European Commission has granted marketing authorization for Danish CNS specialist Lundbeck’s (LUND: CO) Brintellix (vortioxetine) for the treatment of adults with major depressive episodes, commonly referred to as depression.

"The approval of Brintellix marks yet another step for Lundbeck in a very successful year," said executive vice president Anders Gersel Pedersen, head of R&D at Lundbeck. "With its novel multimodal mechanism of action, we are confident that Brintellix advances both the science and the treatment of a complex and heterogeneous disease consisting of emotional, physical and cognitive symptoms that make it difficult for many patients to achieve full recovery from their disease," he added.

The approval will be applicable to all 28 European Union member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Subject to the completion of pricing and reimbursement discussions, Lundbeck expects to launch Brintellix in its first markets in the second half of 2014.