Agomelatine (Ago)

Agomelatine is a melatonergic antidepressant developed by the pharmaceutical company Servier. It is marketed for the treatment of major depressive disorder and has been reported to not produce discontinuation syndrome and have no sexual side effects compared to SSRIs, SNRIs and the older tricyclic antidepressants. Agomelatine may also have positive effects on sleep. Agomelatine is indicated for the treatment of major depressive episodes in adults. Six placebo controlled trials have been performed to investigate the short term efficacy of agomelatine in major depressive disorder. At the end of treatment, significant efficacy was demonstrated in three of the six short-term double-blind placebo-controlled studies. Efficacy was also observed in more severely depressed patients in all positive placebo-controlled studies. The maintenance of antidepressant efficacy was demonstrated in a relapse prevention study.