Depression is a mood disorder that by some estimates seriously affects nearly 15 million Americans a year.
From cognitive behavior therapy to hypnosis to medication, there are a variety of ways of treating it.
That last treatment represents a multi-billion dollar industry, and pharmaceutical companies are continually looking for effective depression drugs with a minimum of side effects. Milwaukee Magazine’s senior editor Matt Hrodey wrote about the effort to reposition the antipsychotic drug Abilify as a front-line tool in fighting depression in this month’s issue.
While researching the world of pharmaceuticals for his article, The Selling of Abilify, Hrodey examined the big business of drugs for depression.
"Any pharmaceutical executive knows that the mood disorders market is massive. The one for psychotic disorders is not so big, and if you can develop an effective popular depression drug...that's a lot of billions of dollars," says Hrodey.
