Drugmaker to end global production of antidepressant Prozac

Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) Production of the antidepressant Prozac will end globally at the end of 2024, drugmaker Eli Lilly and Company said Tuesday after announcing in August the drug will soon be withdrawn from the Taiwan market.

In a press release, the Taiwan branch of the American multinational firm said the decision to end production of the drug is based on an adjustment of its corporate strategy.

Medical professionals have been asked to suspend prescribing Prozac to new patients and assist in prescribing other drug alternatives, the company added.

Prozac, a brand name for fluoxetine, is a prescription drug used to treat major depressive disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) and anxiety.

According to Ministry of Health and Welfare statistics, Prozac Dispersible 20 mg accounted for 15.3 percent of the domestic market with 2.92 million tablets covered by National Health Insurance (NHI) in 2023.

Wang Te-yuan (王德原), deputy director-general of the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA), told CNA Tuesday that Eli Lilly and Company notified the TFDA on June 24 that it would stop providing Prozac in Taiwan this November.

However, the drugmaker stopped domestic supply earlier than anticipated in September, Wang said.

Currently, there are other antidepressants containing similar ingredients produced by other local drugmakers, including Chunghwa Yuming Healthcare Co., he said, adding that those companies have already said they will ramp up production if clinical demand makes it necessary.

Nearly 40 years have passed since Prozac first entered the market, and the market share of generic versions in Taiwan has now reached 85 percent, National Health Insurance Administration (NHIA) official Tai Hsueh-yung (戴雪詠) said.

There are currently 11 other generic alternatives which are also covered by the NHI, Tai said.

It is a norm that pharmaceutical firms retire long-time brands from the international market after their patents expire, to be replaced by generic drugs produced by other drugmakers at relatively lower cost, she said.