Vilazodone: another novel atypical antidepressant drug

This article reviews the novel atypical antidepressant drug vilazodone (Viibryd(™)), which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January 2011 for the treatment of major depression. Vilazodone is a dual-acting antidepressant drug, with a primary mechanism of action of blocking the serotonin reuptake transporter together with acting as a 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist. The antidepressant efficacy of vilazodone was established in two 8-week placebo-controlled studies. One long-term (52-week) open-label study has been conducted. The most common side effects are diarrhea, nausea, and headache. The drug has not been studied in pediatric patients or well studied in patients older than 65. Vilazodone is efficacious, safe, and well tolerated, but does not appear to have major efficacy advantages compared with other antidepressant drugs. However, because of its unique pharmacology and relatively benign tolerability profile, it may be a more effective alternative for patients who do not respond to or cannot tolerate currently available antidepressant drugs.