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The Party Drug That Could Help Stop Depression
The anesthetic ketamine receives official FDA approval to treat depression. Is the tradeoff worth it?
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 5 approved a form of ketamine to be prescribed for treatment-resistant depression. The drug, called esketamine, is administered as a nasal spray and is the first version of ketamine to be cleared to treat depression. It’s also the first new type of antidepressant drug since Prozac was released over 30 years ago. Many psychiatrists and pharmacists see the ruling as a win for desperate patients with few options, but others have raised concerns about the drug’s possibly serious side effects and have questioned its efficacy.
“On the whole, I think they made the right choice,” says Richard Friedman, a professor of psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College who was not involved in the decision. “This is a group of people who are really ill and for whom there are limited therapeutics. There’s no question ketamine has antidepressant efficacy, and it’s a new target.”
Esketamine will be sold under the brand name Spravato and is made by Janssen Pharmaceutical Company, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. “Because of safety concerns, the drug will only be available through a restricted distribution system and…
