Is Wyeth's Psychiatric Ship Sinking?

Wyeth's attempt at an antipsychotic (bifeprunox) was rejected by the FDA today. Liz Spikol has a post on the topic that I found immensely entertaining. Daniel Carlat points out why the drug was rejected -- because it does not work very well. Yes, some doses showed a bit of improvement over placebo, yet bifeprunox did not impress when tried head-to-head against risperidone or olanzapine. Adding this drug to an already crowded antipsychotic market would seemingly do little for people with schizophrenia but would help Wyeth, which is looking a little desperate these days considering it has little to replace its flagship antidepressant Effexor.

What about Pristiq, the "son of Effexor," -- well, that ain't looking so promising (1, 2, 3). Good luck, Wyeth. It appears you're going to need it!