Major Depressive Disorder Drug Pipeline: 65 Assets by Phase

How many major depressive disorder drugs are in each phase of development?

Douglas Insights counts 15 major depressive disorder candidates in Phase III, 23% of the 65 assets in development; Phase II holds 37 and Phase I holds 13.

Phase I/II candidates sit in the Phase I row and Phase II/III candidates in the Phase II row, so each major depressive disorder asset appears in exactly one row. The 263 trials still recruiting or running carry 37% of the 705 registered trials in scope.

Which approved major depressive disorder medicines are still in trials?

11 medicines already on the market are still being tested in major depressive disorder Phase IV trials; Escitalopram has the most, with 48 registered trials.

Post-approval major depressive disorder trials test new doses, new patient groups and head-to-head comparisons. They set the standard of care that every candidate in development will be measured against, so the paid review profiles each one.

How many major depressive disorder trials are recruiting patients now?

162 major depressive disorder trials are recruiting patients and 59 more have not started recruiting yet, out of 705 interventional trials in scope; together they make up 31% of the trial base.

Terminated, suspended and withdrawn major depressive disorder trials stay in the trial base so that a stalled programme is visible, but a candidate whose only trials stopped is no longer counted as in development.

Which companies lead the major depressive disorder pipeline?

Alto Neuroscience leads the major depressive disorder pipeline with 3 candidates; the top 5 sponsors hold 22% of the 65 assets, and 51 sponsors run at least one.

Industry sponsors lead 259 of the 705 major depressive disorder trials (37%); universities, hospitals and public funders lead the rest. A sponsor is credited with an asset when it is the lead sponsor on most of that asset's industry trials.

Which drug types and mechanisms dominate the major depressive disorder pipeline?

Mechanism and drug-type classification for the 65 major depressive disorder candidates is done by the research desk asset by asset, each with a cited source, and is published in the paid review together with the white-space map.

What major depressive disorder trial readouts are coming next?

16 major depressive disorder candidates in Phase II or later have a registered primary completion date in the next 12 months; the next three are below, each linked to its registry record.

Primary completion is the date a sponsor expects the last patient to finish the main measurement, so data usually follow within months. Dates marked estimated are the sponsor's own forecast on the registry and often move.

How many major depressive disorder readouts fall in each quarter?

26 major depressive disorder candidates in Phase II or later reach registered primary completion over the next eight quarters, with the most, 6, due in Q3 2027.

Each candidate is counted once, at its next readout. The paid catalyst calendar names every readout with its trial, sponsor and design, adds filings and regulatory decisions, and runs 24 months ahead.

Which countries host the most major depressive disorder trials?

United States hosts the most major depressive disorder trials, with sites in 378 of the 705 studies (54%); trials in scope run in 66 countries in all.

A multinational major depressive disorder trial is counted once in every country where it has a site, so the shares add up to more than 100%. Country spread shows where sponsors are building the evidence that regulators in each market will ask for.

Where are major depressive disorder drugs being tested?

378 of the 705 major depressive disorder trials (54%) have a site in the United States, 185 (26%) in Europe and 58 (8.2%) in China; 46 of the 65 candidates in development are tested in the US.

Each region's trials are the evidence its regulator will review: the FDA in the United States, the EMA (with the MHRA and Swissmedic) in Europe, the NMPA in China and the PMDA in Japan. A multinational major depressive disorder trial counts once in every region where it has a site, so the shares add up to more than 100%. A candidate tested only outside the US and Europe is often a licensing opportunity for sponsors in those markets.

What has changed in the major depressive disorder pipeline since the last update?

Since 3 Oct 2026, the major depressive disorder pipeline count moved by −1 assets to 65, Phase III moved by 0 and the trial base by 0.

How does Douglas Insights count the major depressive disorder pipeline?

Douglas Insights read 705 interventional trials registered on ClinicalTrials.gov for the conditions "major depressive disorder", "treatment-resistant depression" and updated since 3 Oct 2021, then grouped every drug or biologic named in them into 65 unique candidates.

1. Code names, generic names and brand names of the same molecule are merged into one candidate, and every merge is reviewed by the research desk.
2. A candidate counts when it has a trial that is recruiting, running, or completed in the last 24 months, and at least one industry-sponsored trial.
3. Its phase is the highest phase among those trials; placebo, standard-of-care and comparator arms are not candidates.
4. Each figure on this page is drawn from one frozen dataset that passes ten checks before release, and the owner approves every edition.

Read the full approach on the research methodology page, or browse other Pharmaceuticals research.

Frequently asked questions about the major depressive disorder pipeline

Research & citation

This review was researched, written and reviewed by the Douglas Insights Research Desk under the Douglas Insights editorial standards. Material errors are logged in the corrections log. No section is sponsored.

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