Prozac, the pill that took America by storm. It made its debut in 1987 and since then has held its name as one of America’s most popular drug. Prozac or Fluoxetine, which is its generic name, is marketed as a Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI). The medication is used to treat a range of mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, bulimia, anorexia nervosa, and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), according to First Data Bank. When taken, the drug elevates and balances the patient’s mood, though it is not a cure for these illnesses but instead a temporary relief of the patient’s symptoms. Drug and Background As previously stated, Prozac was released in 1987 by Eli Lilly & Co. (ELC) immediately after the FDA approved it in December of that year. Subsequently, Prozac started to catch on with the American public as it became trendy to take the drug. Using the medication was seen as a status quo and a part of American culture. According to the New York Times (NYT), Prozac became so polarized thanks to widespread advertising, the drug appeared on magazines like ‘Cosmopolitan’ and ‘Women’s Health’, celebrities like Jim Carrey openly mentioned that they took the drug. The patent was previously owned by ELC, but it expired in 2001 after 14 years of Fluoxetine being …show more content…
Sarafem is essentially Prozac for women, it’s the same ingredients in more ‘feminine’ packaging. Sarafem was marketed towards for women to treat Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) , which is essentially an extended version of symptoms women feel from PMS. Many accused ELC of grossly exaggerating the symptoms of PMS and exploiting women in the meantime (NYT, 2014). Although the drug was a copy of Prozac, it did not become as popularized as it, and to this day cannot overtake Prozac in terms of sales. In 2017 Prozac made $10.8 billion in sales, that is a third of ELKE's total profit for that