Antidepressants Moving in Pipeline
Jun Yan
Psychiatric News October 2, 2018 DOI: 10.1176/appi.pn.2018.pp9a1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Reports that ketamine's rapid antidepressant effect, identified at the National Institute of Mental Health more than a decade ago, spurred hope for new depression treatments, and that esketamine nasal spray, an NMDA receptor antagonist and ketamine isomer, may be the closest of the new candidates to reaching clinics. |
Abstract
After much time and investment, several new classes of antidepressants may soon be available. When ketamine was found to exert a rapid antidepressant effect by researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) more than a decade ago, it sparked hope for a new generation of treatments for depressive disorders. Now, new drug candidates are finally edging toward the finish line. Esketamine nasal spray, an isomer of ketamine and antagonist to the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, may be the closest to reaching clinics.