a study to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of intranasal esketamine plus an oral antidepressant in elderly participants with treatment-resistant depression

Conditions: Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant

Summary: the purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of switching elderly participants with treatment-resistant depression (trd) from a prior antidepressant treatment (to which they have not responded) to either intranasal esketamine plus a new oral antidepressant or switching to a new oral antidepressant plus intranasal placebo.

this is a randomized, double-blind (neither the researchers nor the participants know what treatment the participant is receiving), active-controlled, multicenter study (more than 1 study site) in elderly participants with trd to assess the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of flexible doses of intranasal esketamine plus a newly initiated oral antidepressant compared with a newly initiated oral antidepressant (active comparator) plus intranasal placebo. the study will consist of 3 phases: screening/prospective observational phase (4 to 7 weeks), double-blind induction phase (4 weeks), follow up phase (2 weeks). participants who rollover into a long-term open-label safety study will not participate in the follow-up phase. at the start of the screening/prospective observational phase, participant must have had documented nonresponse to at least one antidepressant treatment (based on massachusetts general hospital - antidepressant treatment response questionnaire \[mgh-atrq\] criteria) in the current episode of depression, and the participant is taking a different oral antidepressant treatment on the mgh-atrq for at least the previous 2 weeks at or above the minimum therapeutic dose. this antidepressant treatment will be discontinued prior to the double-blind induction phase. participants taking benzodiazepines (at dosages equal to or less than the equivalent of 6 mg/day of lorazepam) and/or permitted non-benzodiazepine sleep medications (example, zolpidem, zaleplon) during the screening/prospective observational phase can continue these medications. all participants will start with first dose (day 1 as 28 milligram \[mg\]); second dose (day 4) is either 28 or 56 mg. all subsequent doses may be 28, 56 or 84 mg. after the first dose, all dosing decisions are determined by the investigator based on efficacy and tolerability. in addition, each participant will be assigned to receive 1 of 4 oral antidepressant medications from 2 different classes of antidepressant treatments, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (ssri) (escitalopram or sertraline) or a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (snri) \[duloxetine or venlafaxine extended release (xr)\], initiated on day 1 and continued through the double-blind induction phase. participants will be primarily evaluated for improvement in depressive symptoms as assessed by change in montgomery asberg depression rating scale (madrs) total score at week 4. participants' safety will be monitored throughout the study.

Eligibility criteria:
inclusion criteria: * at the time of signing the informed consent form (icf), participant must be a man or woman 65 years of age or older * at the start of the screening/prospective observational phase, participant must meet the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (dsm-5) diagnostic criteria for single-episode major depressive disorder (mdd) \[if single-episode mdd, the duration must be greater than or equal to (\>=) 2 years\] or recurrent mdd, without psychotic features, based upon clinical assessment and confirmed by the mini-international neuropsychiatric interview (mini) * at the start of the screening/prospective observational phase, participant must have an inventory of depressive symptomatology-clinician rated (ids-c30) total score of greater than or equal to (\>=) 31 * at the start of the screening/prospective observational phase, participants must have had nonresponse (less than or equal to 25% improvement) to \>=1 but less than or equal to (\<=) 8 oral antidepressant treatments taken at adequate dosage and for adequate duration, as assessed using the massachusetts general hospital - antidepressant treatment response questionnaire (mgh-atrq) and documented records by medical and pharmacy/prescription records, or a letter from the treating physician, for the current episode of depression * participant must be taking one of the oral antidepressant treatment with nonresponse that is documented on the mgh-atrq at the start of the screening/prospective observational phase * the participant's current major depressive episode, depression symptom severity (week 1 madrs total score greater than or equal to 24 required) and treatment response to antidepressant treatments used in the current depressive episode (retrospectively assessed) must be confirmed for participation in a clinical study based on a site-independent qualification assessment * participant must be medically stable on the basis of clinical laboratory tests performed in the screening/prospective observational phase exclusion criteria: * the participant's depressive symptoms have previously demonstrated nonresponse to: esketamine or ketamine in the current major depressive episode per clinical judgment, or all of the 4 oral antidepressant treatment options available for the double-blind induction phase (duloxetine, escitalopram, sertraline, and venlafaxine extended release \[xr\]) in the current major depressive episode (based on mgh-atrq), or an adequate course of treatment with electroconvulsive therapy (ect) in the current major depressive episode, defined as at least 7 treatments with unilateral ect * participants who has received vagal nerve stimulation (vns) or who has received deep brain stimulation (dbs) in the current episode of depression * participant has a current or prior dsm-5 diagnosis of a psychotic disorder or mdd with psychosis, bipolar or related disorders (confirmed by the mini), obsessive compulsive disorder (current episode only), intellectual disability ( intellectual disability \[dsm-5 diagnostic codes 317, 318.0, 318.1, 318.2, 315.8, and 319\]), borderline personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, or narcissistic personality disorder * participant has homicidal ideation/intent, per the investigator's clinical judgment, or has suicidal ideation with some intent to act within 6 months prior to the start of the screening/prospective observational phase, per the investigator's clinical judgment or based on the columbia suicide severity rating scale (c-ssrs) and also includes history of suicidal behavior within the past year prior to start of the screening/prospective observational phase * participant has a history (lifetime) of ketamine, phencyclidine (pcp), lysergic acid diethylamide (lsd), or 3, 4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (mdma) hallucinogen-related use disorder\\ * participant has a mini mental state examination (mmse) \< 25 or \<22 for those participants with less than an equivalent of high school education * participant has neurodegenerative disorder (eg, alzheimer's disease, vascular dementia, parkinson's disease with clinical evidence of cognitive impairment) or evidence of mild cognitive impairment (mci) * participant has a history of uncontrolled hypertension; current or past history of significant pulmonary insufficiency/condition;clinically significant ecg abnormalities; current or past history of seizures; clinically significant cardiovascular disorders including cerebral and cardiac vascular disease

Keywords: depressive disorder, treatment-resistant esketamine oral antidepressant elderly participants