It is Wyeth’s hope that Pristiq, therefore, will replace
Effexor XR in a few years’ time. Why? Because
Effexor XR makes $3.8 billion (with a ‘b’) a year in sales.
Pristiq has shown the same level of effectiveness as many other antidepressants on the market today — about a 2 point difference in a depression rating scale, compared with a placebo.