Depression affects teenagers, adults and even children and it is estimated that

more than 10 million Americans suffer from this disorder annually (Marketing
Antidepressants: Prozac and Paxil, 2). Knowing that depression is now regarded
as a condition which needs immediate attention, pharmaceutical companies
have developed prescription drugs called selective serotonin re-uptake
inhibitors (SSRIs) to combat this disorder. The major questions I would like to
address here is; it is obvious that these conditions have been existing for a long
time, how was it being treated before? Has this condition been exaggerated by
makers of drugs such as Prozac and Paxil?
Prozac:
Prozac which was designed to correct chemical imbalances caused by a lack of
serotonin, joined the market in 1988 and by 1992 sales had reached 10 million
annually. The success of this drug is partly due to the effective marketing and
advertising strategies. Salespersons were made aware of modern psychiatric
practices and marketed the drug to major psychiatrists. In efforts to increase
sales, the drug was later marketed to general practitioners and primary
physicians. Management further increased sales by educating doctors on how to
diagnose depression and to eliminate stereotypes about this disorder.
Advertisements about the wonders of the drug were ran during hours when it
was believed more depressed persons, specifically women, viewed television.
The press contributed greatly to the drugs success by highlighting it as a
wonder drug and miracle pill. A book published by Kramer reported that the
drug not only treated depression it also transformed personalities (Marketing
Antidepressants: Prozac and Paxil, 5). Although designed to teat depression,
Prozac is being used to treat eating, smoking, bulimia and other similar
disorders.
Paxil:
Paxil was designed as an alternative to Prozac however in 1999, it received FDA
approval to be used as a treatment for Social anxiety disorder (SAD). This is a
disease which is believed to affect approximately 3.7% of the American adult
population and symptoms include anxiety, panic attacks and complete

avoidance of situations. For Prozacs marketers, this was a virtually new

market and marketers knew that sales depended on their ability to create
public awareness of the disorder. Similar to Prozac, marketers used strategies
such as educating reporters, consumers and physicians about the disease and
its treatments (Marketing Antidepressants: Prozac and Paxil, 7). These public
awareness campaigns caused millions of mentions throughout various mediums
and featured patients who claimed to be suffering from this disorder.
Management focused a direct-to-consumer advertising campaign which
highlighted the disorder instead of the pill.
One in 10 American women takes an antidepressant drug such as Prozac, Paxil
or Zoloft, and the use of such drugs by all adults has nearly tripled in the last
decade, In 2002, more than one in three doctor's office visits by women
involved a prescription for an antidepressant, (Antidepressant Use By U.S.
Adults Soars). The demand for such drugs are so high one has to wonder how
effective are they? Are there any side effects? If so how serious are they? In
order to answer these questions we must look at the pros and cons of using
these antidepressants:
Strengths of Prozac and Paxil
Difficult to overdose on the drug and was therefore safe in the hands of
suicidal patients
Easy to administer and posed less serious side effects than existing brands
Positive image: management was able to position Prozac alongside
nationwide efforts to cut costs.
Positive word of mouth and feedback about the drugs
Support from major media houses
They were considered wonder drugs for treating other disorders
Right market segmentation, effective marketing strategies and public
awareness campaigns.
Paxil was the first medication to win U.S. approval for SAD.
The makers of Paxil merged with GSK to become the worlds largest
pharmaceutical company

Weaknesses of Prozac and Paxil

SSRIs didnt work for everyone, as a matter of fact only about 60% of patients
responded to Prozac
Patients had difficulty in tolerating side effects
Drugs had not been tested on children during clinical trials
Opportunities of Prozac and Paxil
Advertising guidelines were more flexible and companies could take
advantage of the ability to air broadcast advertisements.
Threats of Prozac and Paxil
Documents and books were written bout the benefits and dangers of Prozac
Competition there were existing competitors in the market such as Zoloft,
and Celexa
Critics were outraged about direct-to-consumer advertising and protested
that marketing information was misleading.
Issues:
Despite SSRIs numerous benefits to patients, namely Prozac and Paxil, these
drugs were also faced with several issues including:
With Prozacs patent about to expire, Eli Lilly (Prozac's manufacturer) and
Glaxo Smith Kline (Paxil's manufacturer) needed to decide how to respond to
the introduction of generic Prozac into the market
Concerns that Americans were overusing and overmedicating themselves with
these products. An estimated amount of 28 million Americans took these drugs,
while it was estimated that only 10 million were suffering from depression
(Marketing Antidepressants: Prozac and Paxil 9)
Concerns that these drugs were not being used properly
Too much of these drugs were prescribed to patients under the age of 18
What are the moral and ethical concerns associated with using SSRIs.