(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump offered to help the Department of Veterans Affairs negotiate the acquisition of a new Johnson & Johnson drug to treat depression, a treatment he believes could result in an “incredible” drop in veteran suicide.
“I think they'll be very generous with you,” Trump told Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie during a Wednesday meeting on opioid abuse at the White House. “And if you like, I'll help you to negotiate.”
Trump appeared to be referring to Spravato, a nasal spray sold by Johnson & Johnson that was approved for use treating adults with treatment-resistant depression by the Food and Drug Administration in March. The company said that in short and long-term clinical trials, those who used the drug and a newly initiated oral antidepressant saw sustained improvement in their symptoms compared to adults who received just the oral drug.
The president -- who said he had “read really quite a bit” about the drug -- said he believed it could work well enough to significantly reduce the rates of veteran suicide.
Spravato is a close chemical cousin to the anesthetic ketamine. When it was approved, J&J said it would cost $4,720 to $6,785 in the first month, and then decline in price to $2,360 to $3,540 monthly.
The treatment is the first major breakthrough for depression since Prozac in 1987, and could help usher in a new wave of therapies for a hard-to-treat condition. Existing options typically take weeks to work, and aren't effective for all patients.
“Give it to anybody that has the problem, because you have people calling and our folks do a great job on the phone -- but it's a telephone,” Trump said. “You have people calling for help and if those people had that, I'm hearing like instantaneously they're in better shape.”
Wilkie said the medicine was “very effective” and that the VA was currently “in the purchasing process” in hopes of having the drug in all VA hospitals by the end of the year.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is: 1 (800) 273-8255.
--With assistance from Cynthia Koons.
To contact the reporter on this story: Justin Sink in Washington at jsink1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu, Justin Blum
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