The roll-out of Eli Lilly’s new treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in Europe marches on, with marketing approvals granted in three new European countries.

Germany, the Netherlands and Norway have joined the UK in approving the drug, which is the first non-stimulant drug for ADHD on the market. Strattera debuted in the USA in 2002 [[27/11/02a]], and has been growing well in the marketplace, although its sales fell back in the first quarter of 2005 to $119 million dollars, a 15% decline on the first three months of 2004, on what Lilly said was reductions in wholesaler inventory levels [[19/04/05a]].

However, the product hit a stumbling block late last year when the US Food and Drug Administration required the addition of a safety warning, in bold, to the label of the product, stating that it should be discontinued immediately in patients with jaundice or laboratory evidence of liver injury [[20/12/04d]].

It is not clear what impact this had on sales growth in the first quarter, although at the time analysts from Prudential Securities dropped their 2005 sales forecasts for Strattera by a quarter, on the grounds that the news would be used to the advantage of the product’s competitors, such as Johnson & Johnson’s Concerta (methylphenidate) and Shire Pharmaceuticals’ Adderall (mixed amphetamine salts).