The US FDA has approved the first of its kind ketamine-based nasal spray which is supposed to act as a standalone therapy for treatment-resistant depression.

An emerging treatment for clinical depression has reached an important milestone. This week, the Food and Drug Administration approved Johnson & Johnson’s ketamine-based nasal spray, Spravato, as a standalone therapy for cases of depression that haven’t responded to other options.

Johnson & Johnson's ketamine-derived nasal spray has been approved as a standalone treatment to fight depression for those who had an inadequate response to oral antidepressants.

Spravato is now the first stand-alone therapy for treatment-resistant depression, for patients who haven’t responded to oral antidepressants. On Tuesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Johnson & Johnson’s nasal spray,

"Treatment-resistant depression can be very complicated, especially for patients who do not respond to oral antidepressants or cannot tolerate them. For too long, health care providers have had few options to offer patients much-needed symptom improvement,

Spravato, okayed for stand-alone use among adults, is the first such therapy for major depressive disorder (MDD) that is difficult to treat.