Ketabon GmbH revealed positive top-line results from its phase 2 KET01-02 study investigating KET01, an oral slow-release formulation of oral ketamine, for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Results were promising initially. Investigators noted improvements in depression severity as early as day 4, but data were not statistically significant over placebo at day 21. A look at Ketabon…
Beyond the trip with non-hallucinogenic psychoplastogens in neuropsychiatry
Interest in ketamine and psilocybin as potential therapies for mood disorders has surged since around 2010. A groundbreaking 2000 study at Yale revealed the powerful antidepressant effects of ketamine, a dissociative anesthetic. Unlike traditional antidepressants which can take weeks or months to have an impact, a single dose of ketamine led to significant improvements in…
The future of rapid and enduring neuropsychiatric treatments: From psychedelics to non-hallucinatory psychoplastogens
Neuropsychiatric disorders, such as depression and anxiety, are among the leading causes of disability worldwide. Almost one billion people globally — roughly one out of eight individuals — live with a mental disorder, with anxiety and depressive disorders the most common, according to the World Health Organization. Yet current therapies such as selective serotonin reuptake…
How should ketamine be used for depression?
Proponents of ketamine for depression describe its remarkable ability to catalyze improvements in many patients’ mood disorders such as depression and anxiety. However, the question of how the dissociative anesthetic ketamine should be used in the long-term to manage mood order symptoms is less clear. Pharma efforts in ketamine for depression First synthesized in 1962,…
How effective is ketamine for depression?
First synthesized in 1962, the dissociative anesthetic ketamine is rapidly growing in popularity for its off-label use in treating depression and mood disorders. In recent years, hundreds of clinics across the U.S. have begun offering ketamine for depression, anxiety and other mood disorders. The surge in interest has also attracted startups such as Mindbloom…
Ketamine research on the upswing for severe depression
Interest in the dissociative anesthetic ketamine continues to be strong as a therapy for treatment-resistant depression and similar conditions. But the enthusiasm surrounding the drug is likely higher than the quality of evidence supporting its use to treat severe depression. Research into the drug’s potential to treat depression, however, is ramping up. One small study…
What the ketamine boom could mean for pharma
Demand for ketamine has surged in recent years with growing interest in its off-label use for treating depression, anxiety and PTSD. Ketamine has “shown to be very effective,” said Linnea Butler, founder and CEO of Bay Area Mental Health (Campbell, California), which recently began offering ketamine-assisted psychotherapy. Also this week, Pasithea Therapeutics Corp. (NSDQ:KTTA), announced…