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- NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pfizer
Inc. on Monday said it had won permission from US regulators to market
its blockbuster depression drug Zoloft for additional use as a treatment
for "social anxiety disorder."
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- People with the condition, also known as social phobia,
often fear public speaking, acting in plays, playing musical instruments
in public and eating in front of others, according to the Merck Manual
of medical information--situations that in an earlier era might have been
characterized as shyness.
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- The New York-based company said Zoloft is the first member
in its popular class of depression drugs, known as selective serotonin
reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), to win approval for long-term treatment of
patients with the anxiety disorder. It was also approved for acute, or
short-term, treatment for the disorder.
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- Pfizer said people with the disorder experience "anxiety,
fear and avoidance behaviors" in certain social situations.
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- Analysts have said its approved use for social-phobia
could help sustain or boost sales of Zoloft, which boasted fourth-quarter
global revenues of $775 million. Pfizer said Zoloft is the most-prescribed
SSRI in the United States. Other members of the class include GlaxoSmithKline's
Paxil and Eli Lilly's Prozac.
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