US approves depression drug derived from ketamine

Spravato, manufactured by pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson, is “the first and only monotherapy for adults with major depressive disorder,” according to an FDA representative, on January 22. This is a group of patients who cannot respond to at least two oral antidepressants.

An estimated 21 million adults in the United States are living with major depressive disorder. However, one-third of patients do not respond to oral medications, affecting quality of life.

Bill Martin, head of global neuropharmacology at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine, said treatment-resistant depression is complex, especially for patients who do not respond to and cannot tolerate oral medications. . For a long time, doctors had few options to help patients improve their symptoms. With Spravato, a patient’s condition can improve in just 24 hours without the need for daily medications.

The FDA approval decision was made after a decade of research and nearly 6 years of collecting real-world evidence. As of January 21, the drug has been used in more than 140,000 patients worldwide.

Ketamine is considered a “hallucinogenic drug”. Their use in combating depression is increasing. Many famous people, such as Elon Musk, have also used it. In March 2024, the head of Tesla and SpaceX said he used ketamine to improve mental health.

“There are times when I fall into a negative chemical state, like depression. I use a small amount of the drug every two weeks. Ketamine is very useful to bring a person out of a negative psychological state,” Elon Musk said.

However, according to a report by the Yale School of Medicine, off-label drug use has “skyrocketed” in recent years. In Vietnam, ketamine is considered a drug, but is not absolutely banned but is used in research, testing, assessment, criminal investigation or in the medical and veterinary fields.