Head-to-head evidence
AV-101 vs Esketamine
Same mechanism, same race: design-graded trial evidence for both assets, with the grading rationale shown. Grades describe the quality of the evidence, never the merits of either security.
Major Depressive Disorder
Shared mechanism: NMDA receptor · full Major Depressive Disorder pipeline
AV-101
Developed by VistaGen Therapeutics
NCT02484456 · Phase 2 · completed
Nineteen participants were randomized to receive AV-101 and placebo in a double-blind crossover design. The primary clinical depression endpoint was not statistically significant at the reported time points; for example, the day-0 comparison was 20.22 with AV-101 versus 20.56 with placebo (p=0.68), and the day-13 comparison was 21.52 versus 19.69 (p=0.26).
Esketamine · Spravato
Marketed by Johnson & Johnson
NCT02417064 · Phase 3 · completed
The study randomized 346 participants to double-blind 56 mg esketamine, 84 mg esketamine, or matching placebo, each with an oral antidepressant, and used the clinical MADRS depression score as its primary endpoint. The 56 mg dose significantly outperformed placebo, while the 84 mg dose did not, so the primary results were mixed despite the strong trial design.
Next expected readout: December 2026 · NCT07369102 (registry estimate)
The full competitive landscape for each asset (every same-race competitor with aligned evidence, sortable) is on the asset pages: AV-101's landscape · Esketamine's landscape