Doctors outraged as psychiatrist ‘funded by big pharma’ suggests antidepressants should be given over-the-counter

Doctors have approached a top psychiatrist for suggesting antidepressants should be available without a prescription – and failed to reveal that he has received money from several companies that make mental health pills.

In a op-ed Writing for STAT News, Dr. Roy Perlis, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard University, said it was time to do “everything possible” to give Americans easier access to medications for mental illnesses such as depression.

The doctor, who also treats patients at Massachusetts General Hospital, argued that the drugs are safe and effective — and that the need for them is greater than ever.

It is estimated that approximately 50 million Americans have a mental health condition and may benefit from medication to treat it.

Dr. Perlis argued that over-the-counter medications would be especially helpful for people who are afraid to seek help because of social stigma.

However, the mental health medications – which are prescribed to more than one in eight adults in the US – have been linked to worrying side effects, including psychiatric disorders and sexual dysfunction.

After reading Dr.’s argument. Perlis, experts went to

“Why can’t this psychiatrist, who calls for the sale of antidepressants like aspirin, also mention his numerous ties to pharmaceutical companies at the foot of this highly biased, damage-erasing article?” Dr. James Davies, associate professor of medical anthropology and psychology at the University of Roehampton, London, asked on X.

“These omissions are annoying and unprofessional,” he added.

Antidepressants – which are prescribed to more than one in eight adults in the US – have been linked to worrying side effects, including vomiting, diarrhea, affecting appetite leading to weight loss or gain, and sexual dysfunction

Other medical professionals have described Mr Perlis’s comments as evidence of “corruption” in medicine.

“The fact that any psychiatrist, let alone one from a leading academic institution, could suggest that antidepressants should be sold without a prescription… is proof enough of how corrupt, unscientific and dangerous this medical specialty has become,” wrote psychologist Dr. Roger McFillin. .

Dr. Perlis owns equity in antidepressant manufacturers Psy Therapeutics and Circular Genomics, according to his research papers and letters between 2022-202 – including one titled ‘Conflict of interest and citation impact among authors of dermatology guidelines.’

The documents also stated that the doctor had done so receive personal fees And consultancy costs of both companies.

Dr. Perlis has also received consultant or speaker honoraria from AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and Company, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer, as revealed in a 2005 research article entitled “Industry Sponsorship and Financial Conflict of Interest in the Reporting of Clinical Trials in Psychiatry.”

According to the Antidepressants Global Market Report 2024, these companies are major companies operating in the antidepressants market.

Pfizer makes Zoloft, the most prescribed antidepressant in the US, according to Definite Healthcare, while Eli Lilly makes Prozac, the fourth most prescribed antidepressant.

Dr.’s links Perlis are not mentioned in the disclaimer at the end of his recent commentary, as is usual.

A recent study by researchers at Yale University found that nearly six in ten U.S. physicians have received more than $12 billion in payments from pharmaceutical companies over the past decade. Dr. Perlis was not involved in this research.

Neurologists and psychiatrists were the second highest-earning group after orthopedic surgeons, receiving a total of $1.32 billion in payments from manufacturers.

Monthly number of antidepressant prescriptions among US adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 25, 2016 to 2022. The vertical line represents March 2020, the start of the Covid outbreak in America. The diagonal dotted line shows the trend that would have occurred if the pre-March 2020 trends had continued

Other doctors have accused Dr. Perlis of exaggerating the benefits of antidepressants.

Several reviews, looking at hundreds of studies, have found that on average, about 40 to 50 percent of people with depression and anxiety who take SSRIs see an overall improvement in mental health.

This means that in approximately 60 percent of patients the medications will not work. In addition, about half experience one side effect and in one in ten these problems are so serious that they stop taking it.

Research shows that possible side effects of SSRIs may include nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, headache, drowsiness, dry mouth, insomnia, nervousness, agitation or restlessness, and dizziness.

Some patients also experience a worsening of their psychological symptoms – at least in the few weeks after starting the medication.

Up to 80 percent of patients have reported sexual dysfunction while taking antidepressants, compared with about 12 percent taking a placebo, according to studies from the University of Bologna in Italy and the University of Salamanca in Spain.

Anecdotal reports suggest that many experience sexual problems years after they stop taking the drugs.

It comes as the birth control pill became available without a prescription last month – meaning anyone can walk into a pharmacy and buy the FDA-approved Opill.

The change was praised as “historic” by advocacy and medical groups such as Free the Pill and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which have been lobbying for years to make an over-the-counter birth control pill available at an affordable price.

Opill has been safe to use for about fifty years, but the US is an outlier when it comes to making the pills available without a doctor’s prescription.

There have been calls from doctors to also release other drugs, including the anti-nausea drugs Zofran and EpiPens, which are used to treat allergic reactions.

Dr. Perlis has been contacted for comment.