Up­dat­ed: FDA ap­proves Bio­gen and Sage's pill for post­par­tum de­pres­sion, but re­jects use in ma­jor de­pres­sion

The FDA has ap­proved a first-of-its kind an­ti­de­pres­sant pill that acts on a dif­fer­ent brain chem­i­cal than ex­ist­ing drugs for de­pres­sion, lifts moods in a mat­ter of days rather than tak­ing sev­er­al weeks to work, and is pre­scribed as a two-week course in­stead of be­ing tak­en chron­i­cal­ly.

The drug, called zu­ra­nolone and mar­ket­ed as Zurzu­vae, is now the first pill specif­i­cal­ly ap­proved for treat­ing post­par­tum de­pres­sion, and doc­tors have hailed the ther­a­py as a much-need­ed treat­ment for that fre­quent­ly over­looked con­di­tion.

Unlock this article instantly by becoming a free subscriber.

You’ll get access to free articles each month, plus you can customize what newsletters get delivered to your inbox each week, including breaking news.

SIGN UP LOG IN BECOME A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER