Lilly depression drug eases back pain in study

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Eli Lilly and Co's Cymbalta depression treatment significantly reduced chronic low back pain in a relatively small clinical trial, the company said on Monday.

Data from the 236-patient trial, which lasted 13 weeks and compared the effectiveness of Cymbalta with placebos, were presented at the annual congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies in Madrid.

Lilly said 31 percent of patients taking Cymbalta experienced a 50 percent reduction in pain, as measured by a standard pain scale, compared with 19 percent of placebo-treated patients.

But significantly more patients taking Cymbalta dropped out of the trial because of side effects, which included nausea, dry mouth, fatigue, diarrhea, excessive sweating, dizziness and constipation.

Lilly said side effects were similar to those seen in previous trials of Cymbalta for other conditions.

Global second-quarter sales of Cymbalta, one of Lilly's biggest products, jumped 26 percent to $654 million, helped by its other approved uses to treat fibromyalgia and generalized anxiety disorder.

The drug works by maximizing the presence of two messenger chemicals in the brain, serotonin and norepinephrine.

(Reporting by Ransdell Pierson; editing by John Wallace)