(Yicai Global) April 21 -- China has given the green light to the local unit of Janssen Pharmaceuticals, owned by US medical device and drug developer Johnson & Johnson, to market its new antidepressant in the country.

Spravato obtained sales approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration, Xian Janssen Pharmaceutical announced late yesterday. The esketamine hydrochloride nasal spray, taken along with an oral antidepressant, treats symptoms of depression in adults with acute suicidal thoughts or behavior, it added.

Compared to existing antidepressants that generally take four to six weeks to fully take effect, Spravato’s results are quicker because it uses a new mechanism and is being administered as a nasal spray, according to the company

As one of its side effects, the treatment can lead to addiction, which raises concerns about it being taken abusively or without medical advice. But an insider from Xian Janssen told Yicai Global that the drug will be given only to hospitalized patients following its approval in China.

Spravato is the first antidepressant developed with a new mechanism over the past 30 years, and it was approved in the United States in March 2019.

The lifetime prevalence ratio of depression in Chinese adults is 3.4 percent, according to industry data. More than half of them have contemplated suicide, and 23.7 percent have attempted to take their own life.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Martin Kadiev