Fluvoxamine, sold under the brand name Luvox among others, is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class.

[medical citation needed] There is evidence that fluvoxamine is effective for generalised social anxiety in adults, although, as with other SSRIs, some of the results may be compromised by having been funded by pharmaceutical companies.

[29][30] Of the SSRIs, however, fluvoxamine, paroxetine and sertraline do appear consistent as viable treatments for generalised social anxiety.

[31][32] Phenelzine,[33][34] brofaromine, venlafaxine, gabapentin, pregabalin and clonazepam represent other viable options for the pharmacological treatment of generalised social anxiety.

[65][66] The plasma levels of oxidatively metabolized benzodiazepines (e.g., triazolam, midazolam, alprazolam and diazepam) are likely to be increased when co-administered with fluvoxamine.

[70] Additionally, it appears that benzodiazepines metabolized by nitro-reduction (clonazepam, nitrazepam) may also, in a somewhat similar vein, be unlikely to be affected by fluvoxamine.

[76][77] Fluvoxamine has been observed to increase serum concentrations of mirtazapine, which is mainly metabolized by CYP1A2, CYP2D6, and CYP3A4, by three- to four-fold in humans.

[79] When a beta-blocker is required, atenolol,[80] pindolol[81][82][83] and, possibly, metoprolol[84][85][61][86] may be safer choices than propranolol, as the latter's metabolism is seriously, potentially dangerously, inhibited by fluvoxamine.

[94] This may contribute to its antidepressant and anxiolytic effects and may also afford it some efficacy in treating the cognitive symptoms of depression.

[3] Fluvoxamine was developed by Kali-Duphar,[98] part of Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Belgium, now Abbott Laboratories, and introduced as Floxyfral in Switzerland in 1983.

[103][failed verification] Fluvoxamine was the first SSRI to be registered for the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder in children by the FDA in 1997.

[112] In May 2022, based on a review of available scientific evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chose not to issue an emergency use authorization covering the use of fluvoxamine to treat COVID-19, saying that, at the time, the data was not sufficient to conclude that fluvoxamine may be effective in treating non-hospitalized people with COVID-19 to prevent serious illness or hospitalization.

[113][114] A large double-blind randomized controlled trial called ACTIV-6, published in 2023 in JAMA, revealed that taking 200 mg of fluvoxamine every day for about two weeks was not significantly better than placebo at shortening the duration of mild or moderate COVID-19 symptoms.

[115][medical citation needed] There is tentative evidence that fluvoxamine may reduce the overall morbidity of COVID-19 and complications thereof.