Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Comments on FDA Approval of New Depression Treatment
NEW YORK, (March 6, 2019) – The Brain & Behavior Research Foundation (BBRF) applauds the FDA for its approval of Esketamine nasal spray as a new medication for treatment of resistant depression.
Dr. Jeffrey Borenstein, a Manhattan psychiatrist and President & CEO of the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation, says, “The approval of Esketamine as a new medication for treatment-resistant depression is welcome news for people and their families who are impacted by depression.”
“We are pleased that the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation funding of both early research and ongoing studies on rapid-acting antidepressants has helped lead to this development of a new medication for treatment-resistant depression,” Dr. Borenstein adds.
Dr. Borenstein is available for further commentary on the research and implications of the approval of Esketamine.
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Since 1996, BBRF has awarded 90 grants totaling more than $6.5 million to fund research on rapid-acting antidepressants conducted by scientists in the United States and abroad. One of these scientists is BBRF Young Investigator Carla M. Canuso, M.D., of Johnson & Johnson/Janssen R&D, whose paper, “Esketamine Reduced Suicidal Thoughts Within Hours of Treatment” published in the American Journal of Psychiatry in July 2018, was cited as one of the top 12 advances in psychiatric research from a BBRF-funded scientist in 2018. Among other scientists in the field who have received BBRF funding is Dr. Carlos A. Zarate, of the National Institutes of Mental Health, who was one of the early pioneers in the study of ketamine for the treatment of depression.
