Suspended

A Short-term Exploratory Study to Evaluate Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of Seltorexant as Adjunctive Therapy to Antidepressants in Adolescents With Major Depressive Disorder Who Have an Inadequate Response to SSRI Monotherapy and Psychotherapy

What is being tested

Seltorexant

+ Placebo

Drug

Who is being recruted

Mental Disorders+1

+ Depressive Disorder, Major

+ Depressive Disorder

From 12 to 17 Years

+10 Eligibility Criteria

See all eligibility criteria

How is the trial designed

Treatment Study

Placebo-ControlledPhase 1

Interventional

Study Start: September 2021

See protocol details

Summary

Principal SponsorJanssen Research & Development, LLC

Last updated: January 28, 2026

Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Study start date: September 2, 2021

Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.

The prevalence of major depression is approximately 4 percentage (%) to 8% in adolescents, with the highest incidence of MDD in child onset depression occurring during mid- to late adolescence (that is, 14 to 18 years of age). Seltorexant (JNJ-42847922) is a potent and selective antagonist of the human orexin-2 receptor (OX2R) that is being developed for the treatment of adjunctive treatment of MDD with insomnia symptoms (MDDIS).The study will be conducted in 3 phases: a screening phase (up to 30 days prior to first dose administration), a double-blind (DB) treatment phase (6 weeks), and a follow-up phase (up to 2 weeks including a telephone consult and on-site follow-up visit. The total study duration for each participant will be up to 12 weeks. Efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics, and biomarkers will be assessed at specified time points during this study. The hypothesis for this study is that the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics in the adolescent MDD population. There is no formal statistical hypothesis testing due to the exploratory and descriptive nature of this study.

Official TitleA Short-term Exploratory Study to Evaluate Safety, Tolerability and Pharmacokinetics of Seltorexant as Adjunctive Therapy to Antidepressants in Adolescents With Major Depressive Disorder Who Have an Inadequate Response to SSRI Monotherapy and Psychotherapy

NCT04951609

Principal SponsorJanssen Research & Development, LLC

Last updated: January 28, 2026

Sourced from a government-validated database.Claim as a partner

Protocol

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

Design Details

31 patients to be enrolled

Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.

Treatment Study

These studies test new ways to treat a disease, condition, or health issue. The goal is to see if a new drug, therapy, or approach works better or has fewer side effects than existing options.

Eligibility

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Conditions

Criteria

Any sex

Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.

From 12 to 17 Years

Range of ages for which participants are eligible to join.

Healthy volunteers not allowed

If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.

Conditions

Pathology

Mental DisordersDepressive Disorder, MajorDepressive DisorderMood Disorders

Criteria

5 inclusion criteria required to participate

Has inadequate response to trial of at least 1, but no more than 2 antidepressant treatments during the current major depressive episode including their current antidepressant fluoxetine or escitalopram (SSRI). Inadequate response is determined as less than (<) 50 percentage (%) symptom reduction after adequate antidepressant treatment for at least 6 weeks at or above the minimum therapeutic dose prior to screening

Has had access to adequate psychotherapy in the current depressive episode (based on investigator judgement/local guidance) prior to randomization

Must have Children's Depression Rating Scale-Revised (CDRS-R) total score greater than or equal to (>=) 48 at screening and >=40 at the baseline visit

Participants weighing between fifth and ninety-fifth percentile for age and sex. Obese participants greater than ninety-fifth percentile and underweight participants below fifth percentile may participate following medical clearance, as long as their baseline weight is >=30 kilograms (kg)

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5 exclusion criteria prevent from participating

Has a history of liver or renal insufficiency, significant cardiac (example, congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, or tachyarrhythmias), vascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine (including uncontrolled hyperthyroidism), neurologic (including seizure disorder), hematologic, rheumatologic, psychiatric, or metabolic disturbances. Stable medical conditions are allowed

Has current the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5) diagnosis of conduct disorder, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder, borderline personality disorder, somatoform disorders, or fibromyalgia. A prior history of one or more of these disorders is allowed as long as the disorder(s) are currently stable and major depressive disorder (MDD) is not secondary to the original diagnosis. Has a current or prior DSM-5 diagnosis of a psychotic disorder, or bipolar disorder

Has a significant primary sleep disorder (example, obstructive sleep apnea, parasomnias) at screening but participants with insomnia or hypersomnia disorders are allowed

At significant risk of committing suicide based on history or according to the investigator's experience, or based on active suicidal ideation, intent or plan, item 4 or 5 of the Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) within the past 3 months or a history of suicidal behavior within the last 6 months

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Study Plan

Find out more about all the medication administered in this study, their detailed description and what they involve.

Treatment Groups

Study Objectives

2 intervention groups are designated in this study

50% chance of being blinded to the placebo group

Treatment Groups

Group I

Experimental

Participants will receive weight based dose of Seltorexant orally once daily from Day 1 to Day 42 (until the end of Week 6). Participants will continue baseline selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant (Fluoxetine or escitalopram) orally once daily.

Group II

Placebo

Participants will receive matching placebo tablets to seltorexant orally once daily from Day 1 to Day 42 (until the end of Week 6).

Study Objectives

Primary Objectives

Secondary Objectives

Study Centers

These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.

This study has 23 locations

Suspended

Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center

Phoenix, United StatesOpen Southwest Autism Research and Resource Center in Google Maps

Suspended

Advanced Research Center Inc

Anaheim, United States

Suspended

University of California at San Diego

San Diego, United States

Suspended

Yale University

New Haven, United States

Suspended23 Study Centers