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SAN MATEO, Calif. -- SAN MATEO, Calif., June 4 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a survey conducted by ePocrates, an overwhelming majority of psychiatrists say that their usage of the anti-psychotic Abilify will increase based on the findings of a head-to-head clinical trial that pitted relative newcomer Abilify against category powerhouse Zyprexa.
The results of the head-to-head trial were presented at the 153rd Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association. The trial results showed that a significantly greater number of patients with schizophrenia who were treated with Eli Lilly's Zyprexa experienced clinically significant weight gain compared to those treated with Bristol-Myers Squibb's Abilify with both drugs demonstrating comparable efficacy.
In order to gauge physicians' reactions to this news, ePocrates conducted a web-based survey among ePocrates network members. ePocrates surveyed 92 psychiatrists between May 23rd and May 25th, 2003. Respondents were selected at random from the ePocrates Honors(TM) panel of opted-in physicians. Nineteen respondents attended the APA conference. No significant differences were observed between those attending the conference and those not attending. Key survey findings are outlined below:
-- 87% of the psychiatrists surveyed indicate that their usage of Abilify
will increase based on the results of the head-to-head trial.
-- Of the common adverse reactions associated with anti-psychotics, weight
gain is what concerns psychiatrists most by a factor of more than
2-to-1 over the second most concerning adverse reaction, "Somnolence."
-- Not surprisingly, when asked why they plan to increase their usage of
Abilify, the universal reason given is concern about Zyprexa's weight
gain profile compared to Abilify's weight neutral/weight loss profile.
-- 55% of those psychiatrists that say their usage of Abilify will
increase are high writers of Zyprexa, prescribing it for one-third or
more of their schizophrenic patients.
-- 99% of psychiatrists reported observing weight gain in the patients for
whom they prescribe Zyprexa while only 4% of psychiatrists report
weight gain among patients treated with Abilify.
In the past year, physicians have looked up anti-psychotic drugs over 2.7 million times in ePocrates ...