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Drug Safety Alerts
Brintellix® Name Change
05/02/2016
On May 2, 2016, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a MedWatch to announce they have approved a brand name change for the antidepressant Brintellix® (vortioxetine) to decrease the risk of prescribing and dispensing errors resulting from name confusion with the blood-thinning medicine Brilinta® (ticagrelor). The new brand name of the drug will be Trintellix®, and it is expected to be available starting in June 2016. No other changes will be made to the label or packaging and the medicine will be exactly the same.
Brintellix/Trintellix (vortioxetine) is used to treat a certain type of depression called major depressive disorder in adults. It is in a class of antidepressants called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that work by affecting chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced.
The FDA recommends that health care providers check carefully to make sure they have prescribed or dispensed the correct medicine. During the transition to the new name change from Brintellix to Trintellix, health care providers can reduce the risk of name confusion by including the generic name of the medication they are ordering, in addition to the brand name and indication for use.
CVS/caremark Response: Because of the lag time associated with manufacturing bottles with the new brand name, health care professionals and patients may continue to see bottles labeled with the brand name Brintellix during the transition period. CVS/caremark will continue to dispense Brintellix during this transition period.
For more information about this issue, health care providers may contact the FDA consumer inquiry line at 1‑888-INFO-FDA (1-888-463-6332) or by accessing their web site at www.fda.gov/Safety.