Quetiapine: Difference between revisions

'''Quetiapine''' (branded as '''Seroquel''', '''Xeroquel''',  and '''Ketipinor''') is a short-acting atypical [[psychoactive class::antipsychotic]] approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and along with an antidepressant to treat major depressive disorder.

Recreational usage of this substance is uncommon, but reports of quetiapine abuse have emerged within the medical literature. This seems to be driven by its [[sedative]] and [[anxiolytic]] effects (to help with sleep or to 'calm down') rather than by its antipsychotic properties.<ref>Intranasal quetiapine abuse | http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=177055</ref> In addition to oral administration, the drug is sometimes taken intranasally by insufflating pulverized tablets. Some estimate that up to 30% of inmates who were seen for psychiatric services in the Los Angeles County Jail were faking psychotic symptoms in an attempt to obtain quetiapine.<ref>Intranasal quetiapine abuse | http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleid=177055</ref> It is thought that this drug is more commonly abused in prisons than on the street due to its capacity to be regularly prescribed as a sedative and the unavailability in prison of more commonly abused substances.

Annual sales of Seroquel are approximately $5.7 billion worldwide, with $2.9 billion in the United States.<ref>http://drugpatentwatch.com/ultimate/preview/tradename/index.php?query=SEROQUEL</ref> The U.S. patent,<ref>US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database (1989) | http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=4,879,288.PN.&OS=PN/4,879,288&RS=PN/4,879,288</ref> which was set to expire in 2011, received a pediatric exclusivity extension which pushed its expiration to March 26, 2012.<ref>US Patent & Trademark Office, Patent Full Text and Image Database (1989) | http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-bool.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&co1=AND&d=PTXT&s1=4,879,288.PN.&OS=PN/4,879,288&RS=PN/4,879,288</ref><ref>Phillip Moeller (2011) Blockbuster Drugs That Will Go Generic Soon | http://money.usnews.com/money/blogs/the-best-life/2011/04/29/blockbuster-drugs-that-will-go-generic-soon</ref> The patent has already expired in Canada. Quetiapine was developed by AstraZeneca from 1992-1996 as an improvement from first-generation antipsychotics. It was first approved by the FDA in 1997. There are now several name brand versions of quetiapine, such as Quepin, Seroquel and Ketipinor.<ref>Quepin Tablets (Specifar) (2010) | http://www.theodora.com/drugs/quepin_tablets_specifar.html</ref>