Patient Education and Support

This page contains a variety of resources for your MDD patients.

Start Today™ Program

Includes:

• 50% off prescription co-pay or out-of-pocket costs for the full course of treatment*
• Helpful educational materials about PRISTIQ
• Access to education and support program, A New Day™

Please contact a local Sales Representative or click here to request Start Today patient kits for your office.

If you are experiencing problems placing your order online or have questions, please contact Wyeth Customer Service at 1-866-877-8777 (US) or 1-800-981-4748 (Puerto Rico).

*Start Today Eligibility/Terms & Conditions
(1) This card is not valid for prescriptions paid in whole or in part by Medicaid, Medicare, or any other federal or state program (including any state prescription drug program). (2) Card is limited to one (1) per patient for 50% off co-pay. (3) Discount will be inactivated if 90 days have passed since last use of the card. (4) Offer good only in the U.S. at retail pharmacies and cannot be redeemed at government-subsidized clinics. (5) Patients residing in Massachusetts are not eligible for this program. (6) Patients must be at least 18 years old to participate in the Start Today program. (7) Wyeth reserves the right to rescind, revoke, or amend this offer at any time without notice. (8) The selling, purchasing, lending, or counterfeiting of this card is prohibited by federal law, and such activities may result in imprisonment for not more than 10 years or fines not more than $250,000, or both. (9) This card must be activated by 12/31/2009. (10) Patients who enroll understand and agree to comply with the Eligibility/Terms & Conditions of this offer as set forth above.

A New Day™ Patient Support Program

This free program of information and support is designed to help your patients taking PRISTIQ to stay on course with their depression treatment plan. All communications are designed to complement the information you currently provide your patients and to reinforce the importance of regular patient/physician dialogue.

After patients enroll, they will receive a Welcome Kit in the mail.

A New Day offers

• Education – A New Day mini-magazines
  • Science: Understanding depression and your medication
  • Lifestyle: Healthy living tips you can use every day
• Support – “Insights From A New Day” CD-ROM
  • Insights about depression from patients (not PRISTIQ patients) and a noted psychiatrist
• Dialogue – simple-to-use Patient Progress Tracker
  • Allows patients to track their progress between appointments for more productive conversations with their physician

After patients enroll, they will receive a series of communications

• In the mail – periodic editions of A New Day mini-magazines and Patient Progress Tracker
• By email – messages to reinforce motivation and remind patients to follow your recommended treatment plan

To review an example of what your patients who enroll in the program will receive, please click here or contact a local Sales Representative to request a complete patient Welcome Kit.

Progress Tracker

This handy, 8-week progress tracker lets patients record their symptoms for review with their health care professional.
Download the Progress Tracker (PDF)

Patient Assistance Program

Through this Patient Assistance Program, Wyeth can offer help to patients who do not have insurance coverage and other financial resources to pay for a prescribed medication.

Patient and Caregiver Information Resources

Patients and caregivers may find useful information about major depressive disorder at the websites listed below.*

• Mental Health America
• American Psychiatric Foundation
• American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
• National Institute of Mental Health

Patient and Caregiver Information Resources in Spanish

The following are depression resources for your Spanish-speaking patients and caregivers.*

• La Alianza de Apoyo para la Depresión y Trastorno Bipolar
• National Alliance for Hispanic Health
• National Institute of Mental Health
• National Alliance on Mental Illness en Español

*The appearance of external websites does not constitute endorsement by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. of the websites, or the information, products, or services contained therein. For other than authorized Wyeth activities or sites, Wyeth does not exercise editorial control over the information you may find at these locations.

Important Treatment Considerations for PRISTIQ

PRISTIQ is indicated for the treatment of major depressive disorder in adults.

Contraindications

• PRISTIQ is contraindicated in patients with a known hypersensitivity to PRISTIQ or venlafaxine.
• PRISTIQ must not be used concomitantly with an MAOI or within 14 days of stopping an MAOI.  Allow 7 days after stopping PRISTIQ before starting an MAOI.

Warnings and Precautions

• All patients treated with antidepressants should be monitored appropriately and observed closely for clinical worsening, suicidality, and unusual changes in behavior, especially during the first few months of treatment and when changing the dose. Consider changing the therapeutic regimen, including possibly discontinuing the medication, in patients whose depression is persistently worse or includes symptoms of anxiety, agitation, panic attacks, insomnia, irritability, hostility, aggressiveness, impulsivity, akathisia, hypomania, mania, or suicidality that are severe, abrupt in onset, or were not part of the patient's presenting symptoms. Families and caregivers of patients being treated with antidepressants should be alerted about the need to monitor patients. 
• Development of a potentially life-threatening serotonin syndrome or Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome–like reactions have been reported with SNRIs and SSRIs alone, including PRISTIQ treatment, but particularly with concomitant use of serotonergic drugs, including triptans, with drugs that impair the metabolism of serotonin (including MAOIs), or with antipsychotics or other dopamine antagonists. If concomitant use with a triptan is clinically warranted, careful observation of the patient is advised, particularly during treatment initiation and dose increases. Concomitant use of PRISTIQ with serotonin precursors is not recommended.
• Patients receiving PRISTIQ should have regular monitoring of blood pressure since increases in blood pressure were observed in clinical studies. Pre-existing hypertension should be controlled before starting PRISTIQ. Caution should be exercised in treating patients with pre-existing hypertension or other underlying conditions that might be compromised by increases in blood pressure. Cases of elevated blood pressure requiring immediate treatment have been reported. For patients who experience a sustained increase in blood pressure, either dose reduction or discontinuation should be considered.
• SSRIs and SNRIs, including PRISTIQ, may increase the risk of bleeding events. Concomitant use of aspirin, NSAIDs, warfarin, and other anticoagulants may add to this risk.
• Mydriasis has been reported in association with PRISTIQ; therefore, patients with raised intraocular pressure or those at risk of acute narrow-angle glaucoma (angle-closure glaucoma) should be monitored.
• PRISTIQ is not approved for use in bipolar depression. Prior to initiating treatment with an antidepressant, patients should be adequately screened to determine the risk of bipolar disorder.
• As with all antidepressants, PRISTIQ should be used cautiously in patients with a history or family history of mania or hypomania, or with a history of seizure disorder.
• Caution is advised in administering PRISTIQ to patients with cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, or lipid metabolism disorders. Increases in blood pressure and small increases in heart rate were observed in clinical studies with PRISTIQ. PRISTIQ has not been evaluated systematically in patients with a recent history of myocardial infarction, unstable heart disease, uncontrolled hypertension, or cerebrovascular disease.
• Dose-related elevations in fasting serum total cholesterol, LDL (low density lipoprotein) cholesterol, and triglycerides were observed in clinical studies. Measurement of serum lipids should be considered during PRISTIQ treatment.
• On discontinuation, adverse events, some of which may be serious, have been reported with PRISTIQ and other SSRIs and SNRIs. Abrupt discontinuation of PRISTIQ has been associated with the appearance of new symptoms. Patients should be monitored for symptoms when discontinuing treatment. A gradual reduction in dose rather than abrupt cessation is recommended whenever possible.
• The recommended dose in patients with severe renal impairment or end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is 50 mg every other day. The dose should not be escalated in patients with moderate or severe renal impairment or ESRD.
• Products containing desvenlafaxine and products containing venlafaxine should not be used concomitantly with PRISTIQ.
• Hyponatremia may occur as a result of treatment with SSRIs and SNRIs, including PRISTIQ. Discontinuation of PRISTIQ should be considered in patients with symptomatic hyponatremia.
• Interstitial lung disease and eosinophilic pneumonia associated with venlafaxine (the parent drug of PRISTIQ) therapy have been rarely reported.

Adverse Reactions

• The most commonly observed adverse reactions in patients taking PRISTIQ vs placebo for MDD in short-term fixed-dose premarketing studies (incidence ≥5% and at least twice the rate of placebo in the 50-mg dose group) were nausea (22% vs 10%), dizziness (13% vs 5%), hyperhidrosis (10% vs 4%), constipation (9% vs 4%), and decreased appetite (5% vs 2%).

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