After more than a decade of testing, the US FDA last week approved the antidepressant patch, Emsam, produced by Somerset Pharmaceuticals. Bristol-Myers Squibb will market the patch in the US, where 14 million adults could become candidates for the drug.

Emsam is a monoamine oxidase inhibitor, which, when taken orally, can react with foods such as cheese and processed meats, raising blood pressure. The transdermal patch circumvents this side-effect, and has been shown in clinical trials to be able to relieve depression without having to modify the patient's diet.

"Clinicians who have used these drugs always felt that they were more effective than other antidepressants, but we've been limited in using them," said Dr. Robert Hirschfeld, chairman of the department of psychiatry at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. "To have a new way to utilize this medicine is a terrific step forward."

Read full story from the Baltimore Sun and more about the Emsam patch on BestSyndication.