THE NOSE KNOWS –
Aug. 16, 2025 – Roughly one in three individuals with major depressive disorder does not respond adequately to at least two oral antidepressants, placing them in the category of having treatment-resistant depression. For these individuals, the typical next step involves… adding new medications to their current treatment plan. But oral antidepressants often produce side effects such as fatigue, weight gain, gastrointestinal problems, and sexual dysfunction—issues that can lead to poor adherence or discontinuation.
The researchers behind this new study set out to examine whether esketamine, administered as SPRAVATO®, could serve as a single-agent treatment for patients who either do not respond to or cannot tolerate standard antidepressant drugs.
“The size and scope of the global depression epidemic is staggering. There are more than 280 million people worldwide living with major depressive disorder (MDD), and significant unmet needs remain for these patient,” said Adam Janik, the medical director at Johnson & Johnson and lead author of the new study.
