Eli Lilly has gained FDA approval for its combination psychotropic medication product Symbyax to be used in the management of treatment-resistant depression. Symbyax was previously approved only for the treatment of depressive episodes associated with bipolar disorder.

The drug is a combination of the antipsychotic Zyprexa (olanzapine) with the antidepressant Prozac (fluoxetine) and is now the first medication approved for treatment-resistant depression. Patients that have not responded to a minimum of two separate trials of different antidepressants over an adequate trial period for each (four to six weeks) are considered treatment-resistant.

The “Zyprexa (olanzapine)” component of this drug molecule is linked to weight gain, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia.