| Major Depressive Disorder
Abilify vs Effexor XR
Side-by-side clinical, coverage, and cost comparison for major depressive disorder.Deep comparison between: Abilify vs Effexor with Prescriber.AI
AI compares prescribing info and payer-specific access barriers across 1,200+ formularies. Here's a preview of what prescribers are already asking.Safety signalsEffexor has a higher rate of injection site reactions vs Abilify based on FDA-approved prescribing information
Coverage gaps3 major payers require step therapy for Effexor but not Abilify, including UnitedHealthcare
Sign up to reveal the full AI analysis
Category
Abilify
Effexor
At A Glance
Oral
Once daily
Atypical antipsychotic
Oral
Daily
SNRI
Indications
- Schizophrenia
- Bipolar I disorder
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Autistic Disorder
- Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
- Major Depressive Disorder
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Phobia, Social
- Panic Disorder
Dosing
Schizophrenia - adults Starting dose 10-15 mg/day, target 10-15 mg/day, max 30 mg/day, once daily without regard to meals.
Schizophrenia - adolescents (13-17 yrs) Starting dose 2 mg/day, titrated to 5 mg after 2 days and target of 10 mg/day after 2 additional days, max 30 mg/day, once daily.
Bipolar I disorder - adults, monotherapy Starting dose 15 mg/day, target 15 mg/day, up to 30 mg/day based on clinical response, once daily.
Bipolar I disorder - adults, adjunct to lithium or valproate Starting dose 10-15 mg/day, target 15 mg/day, max 30 mg/day, once daily.
Bipolar I disorder - pediatric (10-17 yrs) Starting dose 2 mg/day, titrated to 5 mg/day after 2 days and target of 10 mg/day after 2 additional days, max 30 mg/day, once daily.
Major Depressive Disorder - adults, adjunct to antidepressants Starting dose 2-5 mg/day, recommended range 2-15 mg/day, max 15 mg/day, once daily.
Autistic Disorder - pediatric (6-17 yrs), irritability Starting dose 2 mg/day, target 5-10 mg/day, max 15 mg/day, once daily.
Gilles de la Tourette syndrome - pediatric (6-18 yrs) Starting dose 2 mg/day; target 5 mg/day for patients <50 kg (max 10 mg/day) or 10 mg/day for patients >=50 kg (max 20 mg/day), once daily.
Major Depressive Disorder Starting dose 37.5-75 mg/day; target 75 mg/day; max 225 mg/day; administered once daily with food.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder Starting dose 37.5-75 mg/day; target 75 mg/day; max 225 mg/day; administered once daily with food.
Phobia, Social Recommended dose 75 mg/day; administered once daily with food; no evidence that higher doses confer additional benefit.
Panic Disorder Starting dose 37.5 mg/day for 7 days, then 75 mg/day; max 225 mg/day; administered once daily with food.
Contraindications
- History of hypersensitivity reaction to aripiprazole (reactions have ranged from pruritus/urticaria to anaphylaxis)
- Known hypersensitivity to venlafaxine hydrochloride, desvenlafaxine succinate, or any excipients in the formulation
- Concomitant use with MAOIs (including linezolid and intravenous methylene blue), or within 14 days of stopping an MAOI antidepressant, due to risk of serotonin syndrome
Adverse Reactions
Most common (>=10%) - adults nausea, vomiting, constipation, headache, dizziness, akathisia, anxiety, insomnia, restlessness
Most common (>=10%) - pediatric somnolence, headache, vomiting, extrapyramidal disorder, fatigue, increased appetite, insomnia, nausea, nasopharyngitis, weight increased
Serious NMS, tardive dyskinesia, metabolic changes, pathological gambling, orthostatic hypotension, leukopenia, neutropenia, agranulocytosis, seizures, cerebrovascular adverse events, suicidal thoughts and behaviors
Postmarketing anaphylactic reaction, angioedema, DRESS, blood glucose fluctuation, hiccups, oculogyric crisis, pathological gambling, fecal incontinence
Most common (>=5%) Nausea, somnolence, dry mouth, sweating, abnormal ejaculation, anorexia, constipation, impotence, decreased libido
Serious Serotonin syndrome, elevated blood pressure, increased risk of bleeding, angle-closure glaucoma, activation of mania/hypomania, discontinuation syndrome, seizure, hyponatremia, interstitial lung disease, eosinophilic pneumonia
Postmarketing Anaphylaxis, angioedema, QT prolongation, ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia (including torsade de pointes), takotsubo cardiomyopathy, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, toxic epidermal necrolysis, erythema multiforme, neuroleptic malignant syndrome, rhabdomyolysis, hyponatremia, SIADH
Pharmacology
Aripiprazole is an atypical antipsychotic whose efficacy may be mediated through a combination of partial agonist activity at D2 and 5-HT1A receptors and antagonist activity at 5-HT2A receptors; it also exhibits high affinity for D3, moderate affinity for D4, 5-HT2C, 5-HT7, alpha1-adrenergic, and H1 receptors.
Venlafaxine is an SNRI whose antidepressant and anxiolytic effects are thought to be related to potentiation of serotonin and norepinephrine in the CNS through inhibition of their reuptake; it also weakly inhibits dopamine reuptake and has no significant affinity for muscarinic, H1-histaminergic, or alpha1-adrenergic receptors.
Enter your patient's insuranceCheck specific coverage details for your patient.
Most Common Insurance
Anthem BCBS
Abilify
- Covered on 5 commercial plans
- PA (10/12) · Step Therapy (10/12) · Qty limit (0/12)
Effexor
- Covered on 5 commercial plans
- PA (0/12) · Step Therapy (0/12) · Qty limit (12/12)
UnitedHealthcare
Abilify
- Covered on 4 commercial plans
- PA (0/8) · Step Therapy (0/8) · Qty limit (0/8)
Effexor
- Covered on 4 commercial plans
- PA (0/8) · Step Therapy (0/8) · Qty limit (0/8)
Humana
Abilify
- Covered on 0 commercial plans
- PA (3/3) · Step Therapy (3/3) · Qty limit (1/3)
Effexor
- Covered on 0 commercial plans
- PA (0/3) · Step Therapy (0/3) · Qty limit (2/3)
Coverage data sourced from MMIT. Updated monthly.
Savings
No savings programs available for Abilify.
No savings programs available for Effexor.
Compare Other Drugs
Let us handle your prior authsJust enter your patient's info and we'll:
- Verify eligibility with the payer.
- Pull the right PA forms directly from the payer.
- Submit, track & send live updates to your dashboard.
Free to start · HIPAA compliant
Next Steps for Your Patient
AbilifyView full Abilify profile
EffexorView full Effexor profile
Clinical data sourced from FDA-approved labeling. Coverage data via MMIT. Updated monthly.