Can a Dopamine-Tuning drug lift bipolar depression?
NCT ID NCT05296356
First seen Sep 15, 2026 · Last updated Sep 16, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
Researchers are testing an experimental drug called OSU6162 in adults with bipolar disorder who are in a depressive phase and already taking a mood stabilizer. The trial aims to see whether the drug reduces depressive symptoms over eight weeks. Participants receive flexible doses of OSU6162, and researchers track symptom changes using a standard depression rating scale.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- OSU6162, an experimental drug that adjusts dopamine signaling in the brain
- What this could lead to
- If OSU6162 helps, it could offer a new option for the depressive phase of bipolar disorder, which often responds poorly to standard treatments.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, open-label Phase 2 trial with no placebo group, so any improvement could reflect the placebo effect or the natural course of the illness. Larger, controlled trials would be needed to confirm any benefit.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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About 22 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2021
- Expected to finish
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May 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Signed informed consent 2. Voluntary admission to the psychiatric ward prior or directly after the screening point 3. Age: 18-65 on the day of screening 4. Meeting DSM-5 criteria for a depressive episode in Bipolar Disorder type I or type II, as confirmed by the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) 5. Displaying a sum score of ≥10 on the Bech 6-item subscale of the Hamilton Depression rating Scale. 6. Treatment with a stable dose of a mood stabilizer since at least 4 weeks before screening: lithium s-conc\> 0,45 mmol/L; \>lamotrigine dose 100 mg/d; \>valproate dose \> 900 mg/d, \>carbamazepine concentration \>20 mmol/L 7. In female patients of childbearing potential: negative result of a pregnancy test and a method of contraception with a failure rate of less than 1 %. Women of childbearing potential must, for inclusion, use a highly efficient method of contraception, i.e. a method with a failure rate of less than 1% (e.g. sterilization, hormone implants, hormone injections, some intrauterine devices, or vasectomy in partner). 8. Male patients must agree to use condoms during the study and for 2 weeks after the end of the study/last dose of IMP, unless their partner is using a highly efficient method of contraception, as described above. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Ongoing compulsory care. 2. Subject is considered by the investigator to be at imminent risk of suicide or injury to self, others, or property. 3. Previously diagnosed or meeting MINI criteria at interview for obsessive-compulsive disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. 4. A previous diagnosis of a personality disorder, autism, ADHD, or intellectual disability. 5. A history of substance/alcohol abuse within 2 years prior to screening. 6. Any other previously diagnosed or suspected CNS disorder that according to the investigator renders the patient unsuitable for participation in the trial (such as dementia, brain injury, and epilepsy). 7. Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) total score of \>12 at screening or at any time during the trial. 8. Any somatic illness that according to the investigator renders the patient unsuitable for participation in the trial. 9. Any signs or symptoms of somatic illness resulting from assessment of vital signs, physical examination, clinical laboratory tests or 12- lead ECG that according to the investigator renders the patient unsuitable for participation for safety reasons, including a QTc-time on ECG exceeding 450 ms in men and 460 ms in women. 10. Any factor that according to the investigator renders it unlikely that the patient will comply with the instructions regarding treatment, visits etc. 11. Any change in medication (including dosage) of an antidepressant drug or a mood stabiliser within 4 weeks prior to screening or at any time during the trial. 12. Ongoing treatment with potent cytochrome P450 enzyme inhibitors (e.g., bupropion, fluvoxamin, ketoconazol, itraconazole, telitromycin, clarithromycin, protease inhibitors, quinidine, and terbinafine). 13. Ongoing treatment with drugs displaying a narrow therapeutic window - with the exception of lithium - where either reduced or increased serum levels are potentially harmful (including but not limited to warfarin, other anticoagulants, digoxin. other antiarrythmics, anticonvulsants when prescribed for treatment of epilepsy but not when prescribed for bipolar disorder, cyclosporine, and immunosuppressants). 14. Ongoing treatment with drugs with dopaminergic synapses as primary site of action (e.g., antipsychotics, bupropion, central stimulants, and drugs for Parkinson's disease). 15. No observed beneficial effect of treatment and a symptom severity that by the investigator's assessment would render continued participation unethical. 16. Previous intake of OSU6162. 17. Current participation in another clinical trial. 18. Nursing women.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Sahlgrenska university hospital/Östra
RECRUITINGGothenburg, SE 405 30, Sweden
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