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Fluvoxamine is an antidepressant in a group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Fluvoxamine affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Fluvoxamine is used to treat social anxiety disorder (social phobia), or obsessive-compulsive disorders involving recurring thoughts or actions.  It was one of the first SSRI antidepressants to be launched. Fluvoxamine is used to treat social anxiety disorder (social phobia), or obsessive-compulsive disorders involving recurring thoughts or actions.

Abstract

Fluvoxamine is an antidepressant in a group of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs). Fluvoxamine affects chemicals in the brain that may become unbalanced and cause obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Fluvoxamine is used to treat social anxiety disorder (social phobia), or obsessive-compulsive disorders involving recurring thoughts or actions.
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Brand Name

Luvox,
Luvox CR

Manufacturers

JAZZ PHARMA
TEVA USA
SANDOZ
MYLAN
BARR
BAYPHARMA INC
CARACO PHARMA
SYNTHON PHARMA
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History

Fluvoxamine was developed by Solvay Pharmaceuticals and was the first non-TCA drug approved by the U.S. FDA specifically for the treatment of OCD. It was one of the first SSRI antidepressants to be launched (1984 in Switzerland), and following its FDA approval in 1993, it was launched in the U.S. in December 1994, Australia in February 1999 and Japan in June 1999. At the end of 1995, more than 10 million patients worldwide had been treated with fluvoxamine. Fluvoxamine was the first SSRI to be registered for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder in children by the FDA in 1997. Fluvoxamine was the first drug approved for the treatment of social anxiety disorder in Japan in 2005.
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Uses

Fluvoxamine is used to treat social anxiety disorder (social phobia), or obsessive-compulsive disorders involving recurring thoughts or actions.
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Pharmacology

CYP2D6 is involved in the metabolism of approximately 20% of drugs in clinical use, and displays large individual-to-individual variability in activity due to genetic polymorphisms

More than 80 CYP2D6 variant alleles have been identified; however, 4 of the most prevalent alleles, CYP2D6*3, *4, *5, and *6, account for 93-97% of CYP2D6 poor metabolizers (PMs)

CYP2D6*4, the most common variant (~25% frequency in whites), causes a splicing defect. CYP2D6*3 (2.7% frequency) causes a frameshift mutation, and CYP3D6*5 (2.6%) is an entire deletion of the CYP2D6 gene; individuals homozygous for these alleles have no CYP2D6 activity

The impact of CYP2D6 activity is further complicated in some SSRIs (eg, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, sertraline) that in addition to being substrates for CYP2D6, are also known to at moderately inhibit CYP2D6 activity
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Schedule