• Gregory W Mattingly, Oscar Necking, Simon Nitschky Schmidt, Elin Reines, and Hongye Ren.
• Midwest Research Group, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA.
• Curr Med Res Opin. 2023 Apr 1; 39 (4): 613619613-619.

ObjectiveEvaluate the long-term safety and efficacy of vortioxetine in the management of major depressive disorder (MDD) in two open-label one-year studies, including a post-hoc analysis of its effects on symptoms related to anhedonia.MethodsBoth studies were 52-week, open-label, flexible-dose extension studies to evaluate the safety and efficacy of vortioxetine in adult patients with MDD following prior double-blind studies. Patients in the first study (NCT00761306) were flexibly treated with vortioxetine 5 or 10 mg/day (N = 74), and patients in the second study (NCT01323478) received vortioxetine 15 or 20 mg/day (N = 71).ResultsThe safety and tolerability profile of vortioxetine was similar between the two studies; treatment-emergent adverse events with the highest incidence were nausea, dizziness, headache, and nasopharyngitis. Across both studies, improvements achieved during the preceding double-blind studies period were maintained, and additional improvements were observed with open-label treatment. Patients showed a mean ± SD reduction (improvement) in Montgomery and Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score from open-label baseline to Week 52 of 4.3 ± 9.2 points in the 5-10 mg study, and 10.9 ± 10.0 in the 15-20 mg study. Post-hoc MMRM analyses of MADRS anhedonia factor scores also showed continued improvements over long-term treatment; patients showed a mean ± SE reduction from an open-label baseline to Week 52 of 3.10 ± 0.57 points in the 5-10 mg study, and 5.62 ± 0.60 in the 15-20 mg study.ConclusionsData from both studies confirm the safety and efficacy of flexibly dosed vortioxetine over 52 weeks of treatment and demonstrate that MADRS anhedonia factor scores continue to improve with long-term maintenance treatment.

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