New nasal spray could be a gamechanger for Australians with depression

A new nasal spray is offering hope to many Australians with depression who don’t respond to other existing treatments.

The drug — Spravato — is available in Australia, but its current cost makes it out of reach for most.

But a push is underway to change that.

“It’s legal in Australia but it’s very expensive. What’s happening at the moment is it’s being considered by our pharmaceutical benefit scheme,” professor of psychiatry at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre, Ian Hickie, told Ross and Russel.

“This is quite a different medication treatment from those we’ve had really over the last 40 or 50 years, and more importantly appears to work in a significant proportion of people who … don’t respond to the conventional treatments.”

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