Relapse Prevention Study Of Desvenlafaxine Succinate Sustained Release In Outpatients With Major Depressive Disorder
Relapse Prevention Study Of Desvenlafaxine Succinate Sustained Release In Outpatients With Major Depressive Disorder
The primary purpose of this study is to compare the long-term efficacy and safety of
 desvenlafaxine succinate sustained release versus placebo in adults with Major Depressive
 Disorder, using a randomized withdrawal design. Randomized withdrawal means that after
 receiving desvenlafaxine succinate sustained release for a predetermined period of time,
 subjects will be selected by chance to either continue receiving the study drug or to be
 withdrawn from the study drug and receive placebo for the remainder of their participation in
 the trial. Subjects will not know to which group they have been assigned.

 The study consists of an up to 14-day screening period followed by an 8-week open-label
 period in which subjects will knowingly receive 50 mg/day of desvenlafaxine succinate
 sustained release. Subjects who do not respond to treatment, demonstrating no significant
 change in their depressive symptoms, will be withdrawn from participation at the end of this
 period. Responding subjects will receive an additional 3 months of open-label desvenlafaxine
 succinate sustained release at the same dose. Subjects with stable response to treatment at
 the conclusion of this 3 month period will be randomized to either desvenlafaxine succinate
 sustained release at 50 mg/day or placebo in a blinded manner for an additional 6 months or
 until symptoms of depression return. Following discontinuation at any point after enrollment
 in the study, subjects will receive two weeks of follow-up monitoring, including one week of
 blinded taper with 25 mg/day of desvenlafaxine succinate sustained release treatment for any
 subjects who have been taking desvenlafaxine succinate sustained release prior to
 discontinuation. Subjects assigned to placebo will receive a blinded placebo taper. Following
 taper, subjects will be evaluated for one additional week to monitor safety.
Inclusion Criteria:

 -  Adult, outpatient with primary diagnosis of Major Depressive Disorder (depressive
 symptoms for at least 30 days prior to screening)

 -  Hamilton Psychiatric Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D 17) total score of >= 20

 -  Clinical Global Impressions Scale-Severity (CGI-S) score of >= 4.

 Exclusion Criteria:

 -  Significant risk of suicide as assessed by clinician judgment, HAM-D17 and Columbia
 Suicide-Severity Rating Scale scores.

 -  Past treatment with desvenlafaxine succinate sustained release.

 -  Other eligibility criteria also apply.