Saredutant for depression and anxiety
This is a tachykinin antagonist with a higher selectivity for NK2 receptor which was assumed to be effective from the preclinical data.80 The results of a double-blind, randomized, placebo- and fluoxetine-controlled multicentre Phase IIb clinical trial performed with saredutant in patients which showed a good sustained response in the treatment group compared to placebo.81The favourable safety and tolerability profile of saredutant was also confirmed in the elderly (INDIGO study) as well as in long-term treatment (MAGENTA study).83,84 But still the drug was not found to affect the outcome significantly as compared to existing standard of care and placebo. This was also tried for GAD but the results were inconclusive and the drug was yet to show its impact to be used clinically.