COPD drug roflumilast tested as depression booster
NCT ID NCT06860958
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This phase 3 trial tests whether adding roflumilast (a COPD drug) to the antidepressant fluoxetine helps people with major depression who haven't responded well to treatment. Sixty adults with moderate-to-severe depression will take either the combination or a placebo for 8 weeks. The main goal is to see if depression scores improve more with the added drug.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- Roflumilast (a drug for COPD) combined with fluoxetine (an antidepressant)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a new option for people with depression who don't get better with standard antidepressants alone.
- What could go wrong
- This is a small, early-phase trial with only 60 people. Roflumilast can cause nausea and vomiting, and it's not yet proven to help depression.
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 3
Large-scale testing in a bigger group. Usually the last step before a treatment can be approved.
- Participants
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About 60 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Mar 2025
- Expected to finish
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Aug 2027
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. Patients with age greater than 18 years old. 2. Patients with Ham-D score at least 18 with item 1 depressed mood scored 2 or greater are eligible. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Patients with bipolar I or bipolar II disorder; eating disorders, personality disorders, and mental retardation, current diagnosis anxiety disorders (except for specific phobia), mental disorder due to general medical condition; met criteria for substance dependence or abuse in the previous three months; have a concurrent medical illness or history of seizures that would contraindicate use of the study medication and are receiving Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). 2. Pregnant women or women not using medically accepted means of birth control are excluded. 3. Persons who score greater than 2 on the suicide item of the Ham-D, or who are judged to have significant suicidal ideation or potential in the view of an investigator, are excluded. 4. Patients who are required to be free of all psychotropic except for escitalopram and anti-inflammatory medications for at least four weeks before study entry.
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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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Tanta Unuversity
RECRUITINGTanta, 31527, Egypt
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