| Major Depressive Disorder

Effexor XR vs Viibyrd

Side-by-side clinical, coverage, and cost comparison for major depressive disorder.
Deep comparison between: Effexor vs Viibryd with Prescriber.AI
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Safety signalsViibryd has a higher rate of injection site reactions vs Effexor based on FDA-approved prescribing information
Coverage gaps3 major payers require step therapy for Viibryd but not Effexor, including UnitedHealthcare
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Effexor
Viibryd
At A Glance
Oral
Daily
SNRI
Oral
Daily
SSRI / 5-HT1A partial agonist
Indications
  • Major Depressive Disorder
  • Generalized Anxiety Disorder
  • Phobia, Social
  • Panic Disorder
  • Major Depressive Disorder
Dosing
Major Depressive Disorder Starting dose 37.5-75 mg/day; target 75 mg/day; max 225 mg/day; administered once daily with food.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Starting dose 37.5-75 mg/day; target 75 mg/day; max 225 mg/day; administered once daily with food.
Phobia, Social Recommended dose 75 mg/day; administered once daily with food; no evidence that higher doses confer additional benefit.
Panic Disorder Starting dose 37.5 mg/day for 7 days, then 75 mg/day; max 225 mg/day; administered once daily with food.
Major Depressive Disorder Start at 10 mg once daily with food for 7 days, then increase to 20 mg once daily; may increase up to 40 mg once daily after a minimum of 7 days between dosage increases; target dose is 20-40 mg once daily with food.
Contraindications
  • Known hypersensitivity to venlafaxine hydrochloride, desvenlafaxine succinate, or any excipients in the formulation
  • Concomitant use with MAOIs (including linezolid and intravenous methylene blue), or within 14 days of stopping an MAOI antidepressant, due to risk of serotonin syndrome
  • Concomitant use or within 14 days of stopping MAOIs, including linezolid or intravenous methylene blue, due to increased risk of serotonin syndrome
Adverse Reactions
Most common (>=5%) Nausea, somnolence, dry mouth, sweating, abnormal ejaculation, anorexia, constipation, impotence, decreased libido
Serious Serotonin syndrome, elevated blood pressure, increased risk of bleeding, angle-closure glaucoma, activation of mania/hypomania, discontinuation syndrome, seizure, hyponatremia, interstitial lung disease, eosinophilic pneumonia
Postmarketing Anaphylaxis, angioedema, QT prolongation, ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia (including torsade de pointes), takotsubo cardiomyopathy, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, erythema multiforme, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, rhabdomyolysis, hyponatremia, SIADH
Most common (>=5%) Diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, insomnia
Serious Suicidal thoughts and behaviors, serotonin syndrome, increased risk of bleeding, activation of mania or hypomania, discontinuation syndrome, seizures, angle-closure glaucoma, hyponatremia, sexual dysfunction
Postmarketing Irritability, sleep paralysis, hallucinations, suicide attempt, suicidal ideation, rash, urticaria, drug eruption, acute pancreatitis, anosmia, hyposmia
Pharmacology
Venlafaxine is an SNRI whose antidepressant and anxiolytic effects are thought to be related to potentiation of serotonin and norepinephrine in the CNS through inhibition of their reuptake; it also weakly inhibits dopamine reuptake and has no significant affinity for muscarinic, H1-histaminergic, or alpha1-adrenergic receptors.
Vilazodone is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) and 5-HT1A receptor partial agonist thought to enhance serotonergic activity in the CNS through selective inhibition of serotonin reuptake; its exact mechanism in treating major depressive disorder is not fully understood.
Enter your patient's insuranceCheck specific coverage details for your patient.
Most Common Insurance
Anthem BCBS
Effexor
  • Covered on 5 commercial plans
  • PA (0/12) · Step Therapy (0/12) · Qty limit (12/12)
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Viibryd
  • Covered on 5 commercial plans
  • PA (4/12) · Step Therapy (9/12) · Qty limit (1/12)
View full coverage details ›
UnitedHealthcare
Effexor
  • Covered on 4 commercial plans
  • PA (0/8) · Step Therapy (0/8) · Qty limit (0/8)
View full coverage details ›
Viibryd
  • Covered on 4 commercial plans
  • PA (0/8) · Step Therapy (0/8) · Qty limit (0/8)
View full coverage details ›
Humana
Effexor
  • Covered on 0 commercial plans
  • PA (0/3) · Step Therapy (0/3) · Qty limit (2/3)
View full coverage details ›
Viibryd
  • Covered on 0 commercial plans
  • PA (3/3) · Step Therapy (3/3) · Qty limit (2/3)
View full coverage details ›
Coverage data sourced from MMIT. Updated monthly.
Savings
No savings programs available for Effexor.
No savings programs available for Viibryd.
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Clinical data sourced from FDA-approved labeling. Coverage data via MMIT. Updated monthly.