Posted by sailor on February 28, 2004, at 21:07:18
A week or so ago, after e-mailing some low level beaurocratrs at Mylan Labs (the partner with Watson who developed the patch, I actually got a phone call from a company rep. who basically told me their latest official news is still the Feb. 2 news release, which stated that Emsam was granted Phase IV status by FDA.
I complained that the announcement was really quite vague and non-committal as to when, if ever, Emsam will be on the market. The company rep did say that another meeting was scheduled "soon" with FDA to discuss mutual concerns. These concerns include product labelling and post marketing studies and continued research on "pharmacology and toxicology" of the patch.
I tried to get a comment from the caller as to when we might see another press release on the topic, but she would not speculate.
As far as I can see, the official word is NO WORD from the labs.
Stock investors, I believe have a greater stake in this process than us lowly depression sufferers, who are at the bottom of the trickle down economics of the drug corporations.
Personally I just backed out of a trial of Parnate after holding at 80mg/day for nearly 3 weeks and not getting any of the hoped for effects. No energy boost. In fact I felt fatigued most of the time. And zero mood elevation. My favorite songs still sound more like noise than music. I was also getting increasing anticholinergic effects--dry mouth, constipation, frequent difficult urination, weak erections and anorgasmia. Love those drug trials!! By the way, I had no blood presure elevations and no dietary reactions. High hopes turned to ashes, again. But that's part of the process of trying to help yourself in this infinitely complex jungle of pharmacotherapy. Feeling these SE's drop off is at least one "positive" part of the experience. Another ruleout is helpful, too, in the ongoing search. Not sure where I'm going from here. Will wash out for a couple of weeks, continue to study PB and other sources, and hope for inspiration. By the way, don't know if you'll see this, but glad to see you back in the posts, SLS (Scott). I have great respect for your knowledge and your energy spent sharing it with other PBers. It seems that you've been having a rough go lately. I'm focusing on your feeling better and I wish you the best. Long post, thanks for hangin' in. Patience, Persistence. Regards, Sailor
poster:sailor
thread:318653
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/20040228/msgs/318653.html