SEROQUEL Exhibits Distinct Mechanism Of Action And Reduces The Risk Of A Mood Event In Bipolar I Disorder

New long-term clinical trial data presented recently at the European Congress of Neuropsychopharmacology (ECNP) in Vienna showed that SEROQUEL® (quetiapine fumarate) in combination with lithium or divalproex significantly increases the time to recurrence of any mood event in patients with bipolar I disorder.1 Further pre-clinical data demonstrated that three neurotransmitter pathways are targeted by SEROQUEL in the brain - this may contribute to its unique clinical profile.2 This data also showed that dosing with SEROQUEL causes occupancy of NET - transporter for norepinephrine, a neurotransmitter which is known to have a role in depression.



A large-scale, international, double-blind study (Study 126) investigated the time to recurrence of a mood event (manic, mixed, or depressed) in 1461 patients with bipolar I disorder initially stabilised with SEROQUEL (400-800 mg/day) plus lithium or divalproex.1 After stabilisation for a minimum of 12 weeks, 703 patients were randomised to maintenance treatment with SEROQUEL in combination with lithium or divalproex, or placebo in combination with lithium or divalproex for up to 104 weeks. Compared with placebo, fewer patients in the SEROQUEL group had a mood event, defined as a manic, mixed or depressed episode (49.0% versus 18.5%). SEROQUEL combination treatment also significantly reduced the risk of recurrence of a mood event in comparison with placebo plus lithium or divalproex (hazard ratio 0.28; p