Author: Stephen Johnson / Source: Big Think
- The drug is closely related to the anesthetic ketamine, and it’s likely to be covered by many insurance plans.
- It’s to be used in addition with antidepressants, and only by patients who’ve tried two antidepressants and still don’t feel better.
- Intravenous ketamine treatments are already available in the U. S., but they’re not approved by the FDA.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a nasal-spray drug called esketamine — which contains the active ingredient of ketamine — as a treatment for depression.
It’s the first fast-acting depression drug to be approved by the federal government, and it could usher in a new era of treatment for the debilitating condition that affects some 16 million American adults. The drug, which is produced by Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc., will be sold under the name Spravato, and it’s intended to be used alongside an oral antidepressant.
Esketamine will only be available to patients who’ve tried two other antidepressants and still don’t feel better. It’s these patients — they account for one-fourth of the 16 million American adults who suffer from depression — who are likely to benefit most from the drug.
“There has been a longstanding need for additional effective treatments for treatment-resistant depression, a serious and life-threatening condition,” Dr. Tiffany Farchione, acting director of the Division of Psychiatry Products at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a news release announcing the approval.
A new era of treatment
So, what’s been…
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