Johnson & Johnson’s Fast-Acting Depression Drug Is Approved (1)

Severely depressed patients will have a new, fast-acting treatment option after the U.S. approved a breakthrough drug that has the potential to upend how the condition is treated.

The Food and Drug Administration on March 5 greenlighted Johnson & Johnson’s nasal spray Spravato, a close chemical cousin of the anesthetic ketamine that works quickly to alleviate symptoms of depression.

Spravato will cost $4,720 to $6,785 in the first month, and then decline in price to $2,360 to $3,540 monthly, J&J said in an email.

The approval of the first major breakthrough drug for depression since Prozac in 1987 could usher ...