1 Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI) – sales, withdrawal ...

increased until 1986 and thereafter decreased. As benzodiazepines are the biggest drug group (in
number of DDDs) in N05, they are mainly responsible for the trend.
The number of products on the market increased up to 1996 and peaked with 48 benzodiazepine
products and thereafter decreased. The number of indications increased from 8 in 1983 to 11 in
2005. So while the sales decreased from 1986, the number of products on the market continued to
increase for 10 more years and then started to decrease. The number of indications has continued to
increase.
The sales of group N06, which contains all antidepressants, from 1988 also the SSRIs, was steady
and low for the first 20 years. After this period the curve increases linearly. The SSRIs are the
biggest drug group in number of DDDs in N06 and are thus mainly responsible for the trend.
From 1992 to 2007, DDD for the SSRIs increased from 2.5 to 43.9, i.e. by a factor of 18. A closely
similar increase was seen in the number of different SSRI products on the Danish market, including
brands and generics, which increased in the same period from 3 to 47, i.e. by a factor of 16 (r = 0.97
for the correlation). Twenty-three different drug companies marketed the 47 different products in
Denmark in 2007. The number of indications for treatment with SSRIs increased from 1 in 1992 to
8 in 2008.
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