Question

What was the value proposition of the early antidepressants (the maois and the tricyclics)? Was the value proposition of prozac similar to these early antidepressants, or different? How was the value proposition of paxil differentiated from that of prozac?

Answer 1

The value proposition of the early antidepressants was to give patients suffering from severedepression the much-needed relief. The MAOIs and the tricyclics were quite effective in treatingclinical depression 60-80% of the time. These were one of the first medicines to focus on andtreat depression effectively. Even though symptoms in patients varied from difficulty in sleepingand eating to severe headaches, muscle pains, fear, anxiety etc., the early anti-depressantsworked towards moderating these symptoms. The value proposition of MAOIs and the tricyclics,thus, highlighted the effectiveness of the medicine for people suffering from severest form ofdepression, with its exclusive focus on depression