Antidepressant Brintellix renamed Trintellix to avoid confusion in US

Brintellix, a vortioxetine product approved to treat major depressive disorder in adults, will be marketed in the United States under a new name, Trintellix, starting in June 2016, according to a company press release.

The name change was prompted by reports of name confusion in the marketplace between Brintellix (vortioxetine, Takeda Pharmaceuticals Inc.) and the anti-blood clotting therapy Brilinta (ticagrelor, AstraZeneca).

In conjunction with the FDA, Takeda and Lundbeck determined a name change would minimize future product name confusion by patients and providers.

“Though the original name was fully screened prior to launch, after learning about name confusion issues with Brintellix and Brilinta, we quickly took action to educate health care professionals and pharmacies about the potential for name confusion,” Thomas Harris, vice president of global regulatory affairs at Takeda Pharmaceuticals Inc., said in the release. “Takeda and Lundbeck then proactively worked with the FDA and decided to change the name of our product as we believe this action will help minimize future risk of patients inadvertently receiving the incorrect medication.”

Ramona Sequeira

During the transition period this summer, providers and patients will be able to access this product under the former name, according to the release. Markings on Trintellix tablets will be identical to markings on tablets prior to the name change.

Trintellix will have new National Drug Code numbers.

“Patient safety is our utmost priority at Takeda and Lundbeck,” Ramona Sequeira, BS, MBA, president of the U.S. business unit at Takeda, said in the release. “Together, with our partners at Lundbeck, we will initiate a robust communication campaign and actively work to ensure that patients, health care professionals and pharmacies have uninterrupted access to this important medication. We believe these actions speak to our goals of building our business around patients, trust and reputation.”

For more information:

Visit http://www.lundbeck.com/us for more information regarding Brintellix/Trintellix.

Report errors involving Brintellix/Trintellix to the FDA MedWatch program.