Women with postpartum depression treated with the experimental drug zuranolone experience clinically meaningful improvements in symptoms, new research shows.

According to results from the phase III SKYLARK trial, the once-daily oral medication can also reduce depression severity as early as the third day of treatment, compared with placebo.

Sage Therapeutics and Biogen, which announced the findings in a media release last week, said they expected to file for the drug’s approval for postpartum depression with the US Food and Drug Administration in early 2023.

“These encouraging results are another important step in efforts to develop a novel treatment option for patients who suffer from this prevalent condition,” said principal investigator Dr Kristina Deligiannidis, from Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research in New York.