Depression in college coming to a forum near you
According to this Wall Street Journal story (subscription required) drug companies are now trying a new way to promote sales on college campuses:
Starting next month, the Madison, N.J., maker of the antidepressant Effexor is planning 90-minute forums in campus auditoriums around the country, called "Depression in College: Real World, Real Life, Real Issues." The programs will feature free screenings for depression and speakers, including professors, physicians -- and Cara Kahn, a young star of the MTV reality show "Real World Chicago," who takes Effexor to treat her own depression.
The campaign is one of the biggest marketing efforts ever for an antidepressant on college campuses. Living with the stresses of academic pressure, romantic woes, too much junk food and too little sleep -- and, in many cases, independently of their parents for the first time -- the nation's 15 million college students are an important market for drug companies looking to build antidepressant sales.
Drug companies sold $12.2 billion in antidepressants in the U.S. last year, according to IMS Health, in Fairfield, Conn. It isn't clear what portion of sales were to college students. But some campus health officials estimate as much as 20% of the nation's student population takes antidepressants at some point in their college years.