Ketamine-related drug could be ‘watershed’ in treating depression

'Rapid acting' esketamine was approved by the FDA to treat people who don't respond to traditional psychiatric drugs

Experts are cautiously optimistic a drug related to ketamine, recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, could be a "watershed" moment in the treatment of depression, and one of the first drugs to be a "rapid-acting" medicine to treat the chronic disease.

The drug, called esketamine, will be sold under the brand name Spravato, and was approved to treat people with depression who don't respond to traditional psychiatric drugs.