Veterans Agency to Offer New Depression Drug, Despite Cost and Safety Concerns

The Department of Veterans Affairs decided to approve the use of a new and costly depression drug, despite concerns among doctors and other experts about the drug’s effectiveness. Cost is another issue. Janssen is charging from $4,720 to $6,785 for a course of treatment, when nasal-spray formulations of generic ketamine are already cheaply available from compounding pharmacies. Questions will continue to be asked until we have more definitive answers. Until then, it is good to know options exist.

Full article: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/21/health/ketamine-depression-veterans.html