Ketamine Therapy Strongly Outperforms Antidepressants; Largest To Date Study Shows

Preliminary results from the largest ever study of ketamine-assisted therapy (KAT) suggest that at-home ketamine therapy is both safe and highly effective in treating depression and anxiety with results outperforming traditional antidepressant treatments. The complete peer-reviewed study results are set to publish in October 2022.

The prospective open-label effectiveness trial conducted by Mindbloom, a New York-based psychedelic therapeutics company, included 1247 participants who suffered from symptoms of depression and anxiety. Following four weeks of KAT, using sublingual ketamine tablets, delivered through a telehealth provider, the participants reported significant positive outcomes.

According to the preliminary published results:

• 89% of the participants reported improvement in their depression or anxiety symptoms

• 63% of participants reported a 50% or greater reduction in symptoms

• Participants reported over 30% remission of both anxiety & depression symptoms

• 62% of the participants reported no longer experiencing suicidal ideations

• Improvements in depression symptoms were strongly higher than traditional treatments like antidepressants and also superior to results reported for IV ketamine infusions.

• Side effects were minimal and limited to 5% of trial participants

Although the complete study data and details are yet to be published, the reported preliminary results suggest that at-home oral KAT can be a highly promising and cost-effective option for patients with anxiety and depression.

A side-by-side comparison of the patient outcomes across traditional psychotherapy, antidepressants, ketamine IV infusions, and sublingual ketamine tablets is suggesting far superior outcomes with the at-home sublingual treatment as demonstrated below:

With the high costs of traditional ketamine treatment and local access limitations to a ketamine therapist, an effective at-home sublingual KAT model can mean expanded access, reduced cost, and improved patient outcomes.

Although an open-label study performed by the producers and providers of the therapy is far from a double-blind placebo-controlled study, it is a great promising step towards a potentially more bright future for populations who suffer from depression and anxiety.