The U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded approval for Johnson & Johnson’s nasal spray, Spravato, to allow it to be used as a standalone treatment for patients with severe depression, the company said on Tuesday.

Johnson & Johnson's ketamine-derived nasal spray has been approved as a standalone treatment to fight depression for those who had an inadequate response to oral antidepressants.

The following is a summary of “Intranasal racemic ketamine maintenance therapy for patients with treatment-resistant depression: a naturalistic feasibility study,” published in the January 2025 issue of Psychiatry by Halpape et al.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Johnson & Johnson's ketamine-based nasal spray Spravato to treat adults with major depressive disorder, the company said on Tuesday. The approval paves the way for use of Spravato in patients whose disease has stopped responding to at least two oral anti-depressants.

Ketamine’s promising potential to ease depression is one of the reasons why its use has recently skyrocketed in the US and elsewhere. However, bear in mind that the science isn’t fully settled and, like any prescription drug, it should be used with caution and under professional supervision.

The FDA approved Johnson & Johnson's Spravato, a ketamine-based nasal spray, to treat adults with major depressive disorder who have not responded to at least two oral antidepressants. This approval addresses the need for new options for treatment-resistant depression,

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a nose spray to help treat depression, Johnson & Johnson announced Tuesday.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved Johnson & Johnson's nasal spray as a standalone treatment for severe forms of depression, officials said. The FDA granted approval to Spravato (esketamine) as the first monotherapy for adults with treatment-resistant depression,