Levomilnacipran (brand name Fetzima) is an antidepressant which was approved in the United States in 2013 for the treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adults.
[5] It is the levorotatory enantiomer of milnacipran, and has similar effects and pharmacology, acting as a serotonin–norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI).
Side effects seen more often with levomilnacipran than with placebo in clinical trials included nausea, dizziness, sweating, constipation, insomnia, increased heart rate and blood pressure, urinary hesitancy, erectile dysfunction and delayed ejaculation in males, vomiting, tachycardia, and palpitations.
[16] Levomilnacipran has recently been found to act as an inhibitor of beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme-1 (BACE-1), which is responsible for β-amyloid plaque formation, and hence may be a potentially useful drug in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
[7] Levomilnacipran was developed by Forest Laboratories and Pierre Fabre Group, and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in July 2013.