Efficacy and safety of fixed doses of intranasal Esketamine as an add-on therapy to Oral antidepressants in Japanese patients with treatment-resistant depression: a phase 2b randomized clinical study

In a Phase 2b randomized controlled trial of Japanese adults with treatment-resistant depression, adding esketamine nasal spray (28, 56, or 84 mg) to a new oral antidepressant did not significantly improve depressive symptoms more than placebo plus antidepressant. At day 28, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale scores decreased by about 15 points in all groups, including placebo. Common side effects from esketamine included increased blood pressure, dissociation, dizziness, drowsiness, nausea, numbness, vertigo, and headache, each occurring more than twice as often as with placebo. The authors conclude that efficacy was not established and further research is needed.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Abstract Background Esketamine nasal spray (Spravato) in conjunction with oral antidepressants (ADs) is approved in the European Union, United States, and other markets for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Efficacy, safety, and tolerability of esketamine nasal spray in Japanese patients with TRD needs to be assessed. Methods This Phase 2b, randomized, double-blind (DB), placebo-controlled study was conducted in adult Japanese patients with TRD meeting the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (fifth edition) criteria of major depressive disorder with nonresponse to ≥ 1 but < 5 different ADs in the current episode at screening. Patients were treated with a new oral AD for 6 weeks (prospective lead-in phase); nonresponders were randomized (2:1:1:1) to placebo or esketamine (28-, 56-, or 84-mg) nasal spray along with the continued use of AD for 4 weeks (DB induction phase). Responders (≥50% reduction from baseline in the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale [MADRS] total score) from the DB induction phase continued into the 24-week posttreatment phase and patients who relapsed could participate in a 4-week open-label (OL) second induction (flexibly-dosed esketamine). The primary efficacy endpoint, change from baseline in the MADRS total score at Day 28 in the DB induction phase, was based on mixed-effects model using repeated measures pairwise comparisons using a Dunnett adjustment. Results Of the 202 patients randomized in the DB induction phase (esketamine [n = 122] or placebo [n = 80]), the MADRS total scores decreased from baseline to Day 28 of the DB induction phase (− 15.2, − 14.5, − 15.1, and − 15.3 for esketamine 28 mg, 56 mg, 84 mg, and placebo groups, respectively), indicating an improvement in depressive symptoms; however, the difference between the esketamine and placebo groups was not statistically significant. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events during the DB induction phase in the combined esketamine group (incidences ranging from 12.3 to 41.0%) were blood pressure increased, dissociation, dizziness, somnolence, nausea, hypoaesthesia, vertigo, and headache; the incidence of each of these events was > 2-fold higher than the corresponding incidence in the placebo group. Conclusions Efficacy of esketamine plus oral AD in Japanese TRD patients was not established; further investigation is warranted. All esketamine doses were safe and tolerated. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02918318 . Registered: 28 September 2016.