Venlafaxine 75mg/5ml oral suspension
Requires a prescription from a doctor or prescriber
Venlafaxine is an antidepressant and a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI).
Genetic variations that may affect drug response
5 known genetic variations may influence how your body responds to Venlafaxine 75mg/5ml oral suspension.Genes involved: CYP2D6, ABCB1
These are known genetic variations. They don't mean the medicine won't work for you — speak to your doctor or a pharmacogenomics specialist for personalised advice. Source: DrugBank (CC BY-NC 4.0).
Official documents, adverse reaction reporting, and safety monitoring
Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Official medicine documents
Safety monitoring data
Yellow Card reports
The MHRA Yellow Card scheme collects reports of suspected side effects from healthcare professionals and patients. View the Drug Analysis Profile (iDAP) for real-world adverse reaction data.
View Drug Analysis Profile
Suspected adverse reactions reported for Venlafaxine
Browse all iDAP reports
Interactive Drug Analysis Profiles for all medicines
Report a side effect
Submit a Yellow Card report to the MHRA
Data from the MHRA Yellow Card scheme. A reported reaction does not necessarily mean the medicine caused it. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
EudraVigilance
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) collects suspected adverse reaction reports from across the EU/EEA through the EudraVigilance system. Search for safety data on this medicine.
View EudraVigilance report
Suspected adverse reactions reported for Venlafaxine
About EudraVigilance
Learn about EU pharmacovigilance and safety monitoring
EudraVigilance data is published by the European Medicines Agency (EMA). A suspected adverse reaction is not necessarily caused by the medicine.
1 branded products available
Part of the Efexor brand family (generic: Venlafaxine)
MHRA licensed products
View all licensed products for Venlafaxine on the MHRA register
WHO defined daily dose (DDD)
100 mg
Not a recommended dose. The DDD is the assumed average maintenance dose per day for a drug used for its main indication in adults. It is a statistical measure used for research and comparison purposes only.
Source: WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology, distributed via NHS dm+d BNF mapping files. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Therapeutically similar medicines
Similarity based on WHO Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical (ATC) classification and NHS BNF section grouping. Source data: NHS dm+d via TRUD (OGL v3.0), WHO ATC/DDD Index.
NHS prescribing volume and spending trends
Clinical guidelines and formulary information
British National Formulary
Venlafaxine
Source: British National Formulary, NICE. Joint Formulary Committee. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
NICE clinical guidance(11)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (NG116)
Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults: management (CG113)
Depression in adults with a chronic physical health problem: recognition and management (CG91)
Neuropathic pain in adults: pharmacological management in non-specialist settings (CG173)
Vortioxetine for treating major depressive episodes (TA367)
Social anxiety disorder: recognition, assessment and treatment (CG159)
Obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder: treatment (CG31)
Depression in children and young people: identification and management (NG134)
Antenatal and postnatal mental health: clinical management and service guidance (CG192)
Depression in adults: treatment and management (NG222)
Esketamine nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression (TA854)
Source: National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Check stock at pharmacies and supply information
Pharmacy stock checkers
Search for this medicine at major UK pharmacy chains. These links open the retailer's own website — results depend on their current online catalogue.
Supply & product information
Official product databases and supply status monitoring
Pharmacy links redirect to the retailer's own search and do not represent real-time stock levels. emc (electronic medicines compendium) is operated by Datapharm Ltd. Shortage information sourced from NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service (SPS), sps.nhs.uk.
Codes for healthcare professionals and prescribing systems
These codes are used by healthcare IT systems and prescribers to identify this medicine.
NHS UK identifiers
Browse tools
SNOMED CT and dm+d codes from NHS TRUD (Technology Reference data Update Distribution), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. BNF codes from NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA). ATC codes from the WHO Collaborating Centre for Drug Statistics Methodology (whocc.no).
Active and completed clinical studies from ClinicalTrials.gov
Source: ClinicalTrials.gov, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Data accessed via ClinicalTrials.gov API v2. Trial information is provided for research purposes and does not constitute medical advice.
Pharmacology and chemical data from DrugBank
Key facts
Drug status
Approved
Major interactions
220 found
Half-life
2 hours
Mechanism
The exact mechanism of action of venlafaxine in the treatment of various psychia…
Food interactions
3 warnings
Human targets
3 targets
Data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Pharmacokinetics at a glance
Absorption
45%
Half-life
2 hours
[L43030]
Protein binding
27%
[L43030]
Volume of distribution
3.7 L/kg
[L43030]
Metabolism
Elimination
87%
Clearance
0.6 L/h
[L43030]
Pharmacokinetic data: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0
Venlafaxine has been used as a first-line treatment for MDD, GAD, social anxiety disorder, and panic disorder in Canada for many years. It was also considered a second-line treatment for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).[A177226][A177235] Venlafaxine was also investigated in off-label uses for the prophylaxis of migraine headaches,[A413][A177229] for reduction of vasomotor symptoms associated with menopause,[A177238] and for the management of neuropathic pain (although there is only minimal evidence of efficacy for this condition).[A177232]
[L43030]
Known interactions with other medications. Always consult a healthcare professional.
Showing 50 of 1911 interactions
[L43025]
There are reports of acute overdosage with venlafaxine either alone or in combination with other drugs including alcohol. Doses up to several-fold higher than the usual therapeutic dose have been ingested in these cases of acute overdosage. Somnolence is the most commonly reported symptom, along with other symptoms such as paresthesia of the extremities, moderate dizziness, altered consciousness, nausea, vomiting, numb hands and feet, hot-cold spells (which occur a few days after the overdose event), hypotension, convulsions, sinus and ventricular tachycardia, rhabdomyolysis, vertigo, liver necrosis, electrocardiogram changes (e.g., prolongation of QT interval, bundle branch block, QRS prolongation), serotonin syndrome, and death.
[L43030]
There is no known antidote for venlafaxine overdose.
Cases of overdose have been managed with or without symptomatic treatment, hospitalization, and activated charcoal.
[L43030]
Retrospective studies suggest that the risk of fatal outcomes from venlafaxine overdosage is higher than that of SSRI antidepressants, but lower than that of tricyclic antidepressants.
[L43030]
How the body processes this drug — absorption, distribution, metabolism, and elimination
Cmax and Tmax of ODV were 260 ng/mL and nine hours, respectively. The extended-release formulation of venlafaxine has a slower rate of absorption, but the same extent of absorption as the immediate-release formulation. After once-daily administration of extended-release formulation of 75 mg venlafaxine, Cmax was 225 ng/mL and Tmax was two hours.
Cmax and Tmax of ODV were 290 ng/mL and three hours, respectively.
[L43030]
Food does not affect the bioavailability of venlafaxine or its active metabolite, O-desmethylvenlafaxine (ODV).
[L43030]
[L43030]
[L43030]
[L43030]
[L43030]
Venlafaxine can also undergo N-demethylation mediated by CYP2C9, and CYP2C19, and CYP3A4 to form N-desmethylvenlafaxine (NDV) but this is a minor metabolic pathway.
[A14753]
ODV and NDV further metabolized by CYP2C19, CYP2D6 and/or CYP3A4 to form N,O-didesmethylvenlafaxine (NODV) [A6998] and NODV can be further metabolized to form N, N, O-tridesmethylvenlafaxine, followed by a possible glucuronidation.
[A19479]
[L43030]
[L43030]
Proteins and enzymes this drug interacts with in the body
PMID:10407194 PMID:12869649 PMID:21730057 PMID:27049939 PMID:27756841 PMID:34851672
Essential for serotonin homeostasis in the central nervous system. In the developing somatosensory cortex, acts in glutamatergic neurons to control serotonin uptake and its trophic functions accounting for proper spatial organization of cortical neurons and elaboration of sensory circuits.
In the mature cortex, acts primarily in brainstem raphe neurons to mediate serotonin uptake from the synaptic cleft back into the pre-synaptic terminal thus terminating serotonin signaling at the synapse (By similarity). Modulates mucosal serotonin levels in the gastrointestinal tract through uptake and clearance of serotonin in enterocytes. Required for enteric neurogenesis and gastrointestinal reflexes (By similarity).
Regulates blood serotonin levels by ensuring rapid high affinity uptake of serotonin from plasma to platelets, where it is further stored in dense granules via vesicular monoamine transporters and then released upon stimulation .
PMID:17506858 PMID:18317590
Mechanistically, the transport cycle starts with an outward-open conformation having Na1(+) and Cl(-) sites occupied. The binding of a second extracellular Na2(+) ion and serotonin substrate leads to structural changes to outward-occluded to inward-occluded to inward-open, where the Na2(+) ion and serotonin are released into the cytosol. Binding of intracellular K(+) ion induces conformational transitions to inward-occluded to outward-open and completes the cycle by releasing K(+) possibly together with a proton bound to Asp-98 into the extracellular compartment.
Na1(+) and Cl(-) ions remain bound throughout the transport cycle .
PMID:10407194 PMID:12869649 PMID:21730057 PMID:27049939 PMID:27756841 PMID:34851672
Additionally, displays serotonin-induced channel-like conductance for monovalent cations, mainly Na(+) ions. The channel activity is uncoupled from the transport cycle and may contribute to the membrane resting potential or excitability (By similarity)
PMID:2008212 PMID:8125921 PMID:38750358
Is responsible for norepinephrine re-uptake and clearance from the synaptic cleft, thus playing a crucial role in norepinephrine inactivation and homeostasis (By similarity). Can also mediate sodium- and chloride-dependent transport of dopamine PMID:11093780 PMID:8125921 PMID:39395208 PMID:39048818
PMID:10375632 PMID:11093780 PMID:1406597 PMID:15505207 PMID:19478460 PMID:39112701 PMID:39112703 PMID:39112705 PMID:8302271
Also mediates sodium- and chloride-dependent transport of norepinephrine (also known as noradrenaline) (By similarity). Regulator of light-dependent retinal hyaloid vessel regression, downstream of OPN5 signaling (By similarity)
Enzymes involved in drug metabolism — important for understanding drug interactions
Proteins that transport this drug across cell membranes
PMID:2897240 PMID:35970996 PMID:8898203 PMID:9038218 PMID:35507548
Catalyzes the flop of phospholipids from the cytoplasmic to the exoplasmic leaflet of the apical membrane. Participates mainly to the flop of phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine, beta-D-glucosylceramides and sphingomyelins .
PMID:8898203
Energy-dependent efflux pump responsible for decreased drug accumulation in multidrug-resistant cells PMID:2897240 PMID:35970996 PMID:9038218
PMID:11306452 PMID:12958161 PMID:19506252 PMID:20705604 PMID:28554189 PMID:30405239 PMID:31003562
Involved in porphyrin homeostasis, mediating the export of protoporphyrin IX (PPIX) from both mitochondria to cytosol and cytosol to extracellular space, it also functions in the cellular export of heme .
PMID:20705604 PMID:23189181
Also mediates the efflux of sphingosine-1-P from cells .
PMID:20110355
Acts as a urate exporter functioning in both renal and extrarenal urate excretion .
PMID:19506252 PMID:20368174 PMID:22132962 PMID:31003562 PMID:36749388
In kidney, it also functions as a physiological exporter of the uremic toxin indoxyl sulfate (By similarity). Also involved in the excretion of steroids like estrone 3-sulfate/E1S, 3beta-sulfooxy-androst-5-en-17-one/DHEAS, and other sulfate conjugates .
PMID:12682043 PMID:28554189 PMID:30405239
Mediates the secretion of the riboflavin and biotin vitamins into milk (By similarity). Extrudes pheophorbide a, a phototoxic porphyrin catabolite of chlorophyll, reducing its bioavailability (By similarity).
Plays an important role in the exclusion of xenobiotics from the brain (Probable). It confers to cells a resistance to multiple drugs and other xenobiotics including mitoxantrone, pheophorbide, camptothecin, methotrexate, azidothymidine, and the anthracyclines daunorubicin and doxorubicin, through the control of their efflux .
PMID:11306452 PMID:12477054 PMID:15670731 PMID:18056989 PMID:31254042
In placenta, it limits the penetration of drugs from the maternal plasma into the fetus (By similarity). May play a role in early stem cell self-renewal by blocking differentiation (By similarity).
In inflammatory macrophages, exports itaconate from the cytosol to the extracellular compartment and limits the activation of TFEB-dependent lysosome biogenesis involved in antibacterial innate immune response
ATC N06AX16
Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
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Chemical identifiers
CAS, UNII, InChI Key and database cross-references
Linked compound data from DrugBank Open Data (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Venlafaxine
Additional database identifiers
Drugs Product Database (DPD)
11336
ChemSpider
5454
BindingDB
82071
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11050
GenAtlas
SLC6A4
GeneCards
SLC6A4
GenBank Gene Database
X70697
GenBank Protein Database
36433
Guide to Pharmacology
928
UniProt Accession
SC6A4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11048
GenAtlas
SLC6A2
GeneCards
SLC6A2
GenBank Gene Database
M65105
GenBank Protein Database
189258
Guide to Pharmacology
926
UniProt Accession
SC6A2_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:11049
GenAtlas
SLC6A3
GeneCards
SLC6A3
GenBank Gene Database
M96670
GenBank Protein Database
553260
Guide to Pharmacology
927
UniProt Accession
SC6A3_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2625
GenAtlas
CYP2D6
GeneCards
CYP2D6
GenBank Gene Database
M20403
GenBank Protein Database
181350
Guide to Pharmacology
1329
UniProt Accession
CP2D6_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2637
GenAtlas
CYP3A4
GeneCards
CYP3A4
GenBank Gene Database
M18907
Guide to Pharmacology
1337
UniProt Accession
CP3A4_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2623
GenAtlas
CYP2C9
GeneCards
CYP2C9
GenBank Gene Database
AY341248
Guide to Pharmacology
1326
UniProt Accession
CP2C9_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:2621
GeneCards
CYP2C19
GenBank Gene Database
M61854
GenBank Protein Database
181344
Guide to Pharmacology
1328
UniProt Accession
CP2CJ_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:40
GenAtlas
ABCB1
GeneCards
ABCB1
GenBank Gene Database
M14758
GenBank Protein Database
307180
Guide to Pharmacology
768
UniProt Accession
MDR1_HUMAN
HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC)
HGNC:74
GenAtlas
ABCG2
GeneCards
ABCG2
GenBank Gene Database
AF103796
GenBank Protein Database
4185796
Guide to Pharmacology
792
UniProt Accession
ABCG2_HUMAN
International reference pricing
Reference pricing from DrugBank. Prices are indicative and may not reflect current UK costs.
Source: DrugBank. Used under CC BY-NC 4.0 academic licence for non-commercial purposes.
Patent information
1 active patent, 7 expired
Source: DrugBank · CC BY-NC 4.0. Patent data sourced from national patent offices. Expiry dates may not reflect extensions, regulatory exclusivity periods, or legal challenges.
DrugBank citations
If you use DrugBank data in your research, please cite the following publications: