PRJ2215: Assessment of Buproprion Misuse/Abuse 2004-2011

Trial description: Bupropion hydrochloride was first approved on 30 December 1985 in United States for depression and is currently approved in 80 countries. Bupropion has also subsequently been approved for smoking cessation and for seasonal affective disorder.Cumulative exposure to bupropion is estimated at approximately 97.3 million patient exposures up to 31 December 2012.Bupropion hydrochloride is a weak catecholamine reuptake inhibitor predominantly affecting serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine. Its mechanism of action and its structural similarities to diethylpropion, amphetamines, and cocaine, bupropion resembles stimulants in many respects, leading to concerns about potential abuse of the product.Abuse potential had been part of the Benefit Risk Management Plan for bupropion up until 2003 and at that point, had no longer been regarded as a potential risk that required additional/further evaluation outside standard pharmacovigilance monitoring. The current European Risk Management Plan also states that standard pharmacovigilance monitoring applies to abuse potential. Monitoring has shown a recent increase in the number of spontaneous reports from the Adverse Event reporting System (AERS) of drug abuse.The bupropion team agreed that although the numbers of abuse reports was small relative to the total number of reports for bupropion in OCEANS, there was sufficient information in AERS to warrant investigation of the potential effect on public health.To investigate the degree of misuse and abuse of bupropion (including non-oral routes of administration) in the United States, the Drug Abuse Warning Network will be used to examine the study period 2004-2011.