Ketamine therapy at IMH offers hope to patients with hard-to-treat depression
iX Biopharma: For years, they have advocated for ketamine’s potential in treating depression, particularly treatment-resistant depression. Today, the clinical reality is catching up.
The Institute of Mental Health (IMH) is now using intravenous ketamine successfully for patients with hard-to-treat depression, with more than half responding to treatment.
This is especially significant because racemic ketamine is not specifically approved to treat depression and is being used "off-label". Even though intravenous treatment requires a needle and multiple 40-minute infusions, clinicians are choosing ketamine because of the meaningful difference it can make. It shows that clinicians will adopt a treatment when the evidence and the patient need support.
The United States is already well ahead. Ketamine therapy is widely used in specialist clinics, and the US ketamine clinics market was estimated at US$3.77 billion in 2024.
At iX Biopharma, they recognised this potential years ago. Wafermine is their sublingual ketamine wafer - non-invasive, needle-free, and designed to allow flexible dosing. While they are pursuing its approval as a pain treatment, the IMH report reinforces ketamine’s broader therapeutic potential, including its off-label use for depression. Better delivery could broaden its impact.
This marks meaningful progress in addressing a significant unmet need, as depression continues to affect a growing number of people.