CQ - I really wasn't going to post on this (the old, "if you can't say something nice....). I read the early reports and articles when they were testing the weekly Prozac. Even the reports by scientists working for the company (when you read the articles closely - ie. read between the lines; watched how they said something, etc.), but nothing exceedingly terrible.

The side effects can be worse and, as has been said, remembering to take the drug was a problem. Also, concerns were raised about extending the half-life of a drug that already has a long half-life. This could be significant in cases of life-threatening adverse reactions (eg. allergy to the drug). The drug would not be easy to remove from the body.

I have also read studies where the regular Prozac, and perhaps some of the other SSRIs may really only need to be taken weekly. There is research being done to see if continuous steady state blood levels of antidepressants are really needed to maintain depression remission. The article said, that after remission is attained, certain antidepressants may only have to be taken weekly. I would still like to see the findings of subsequent studies before putting any faith into this idea.

I suspect that the real reason that Prozac Weekly is being marketed is to retain patent protection. This is one way brand-name companies can try to offset the losses they will incur when generic versions of their drugs hit the market. Eli Lilly is trying to retain some of their antidepressant market share. In a similar vein, watch for escitalopram (the levo isomer of citalopram - Celexa) to be released, just as the patent runs out on Celexa.

I hope tha this is of some help. - Cam