The first data from the SEROQUEL XL® major depressive disorder (MDD)1,2 and generalised anxiety disorder (GAD)3 clinical development programmes were presented at the 7th International Forum on Mood and Anxiety Disorders (IFMAD) in Budapest. The data showed that patients who received quetiapine XL experienced significant reductions in symptom severity compared to those on placebo, in each of three trials, which investigated quetiapine XL as monotherapy in MDD1, adjunctive therapy in MDD2 and as monotherapy in GAD3. The data is the first to be released from the AstraZeneca MDD/GAD clinical trial programme, which involves over 7000 patients. Seroquel XL is not currently licensed in the UK and does not currently have licenses for MDD or GAD.

All studies were randomised double blind and in the first study of 612 patients with MDD, quetiapine XL monotherapy showed a significant reduction in total scores on the Montgomery-?…sberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS)1. After 6 weeks of treatment, scores were reduced for both the 150mg/day dose (14.81; P?‰¤0.001) and the 300mg/day dose (-15.29; P?‰¤0.001) versus placebo (-11.18; P?‰¤0.001). Significant improvement was seen within 8 days of starting treatment (P