Nexstim Plc reported clinical outcomes of the 311 patients who have completed Nexstim SmartFocus® rTMS treatment with Nexstim NBT® system for major depressive disorder (MDD). Nexstim NBT® system is indicated for the treatment of MDD in adult patients who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from prior antidepressant medication in the current episode. Treatment outcomes of these 311 patients were very good: 50.2% were in remission at end of treatment and 76.5% had obtained a clinical response.

These outcomes are clearly higher than what is usually reported for MDD: In a well-conducted multisite study, remission rates were 26.5-28.7% and the patient-reported response rates were 41.5- 56.4%1. The patient-reported remission and response rates are also higher than those reported in a large >3800 patient series for patients completing clinical rTMS treatment (remission 29.7-36.2%, response 62.7-70.4%)2. The average patient reported Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) depression symptom severity score in the Nexstim registry was 20.9 before treatment and decreased to 6.6 by end of treatment. In the >3800 patient series the average PHQ-9 score before treatment was reported to be 19.8 and to have decreased to 11.1 by end of treatment2. The range of PHQ-9 is from 0 to 27 with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms. The scores correspond to disease severity as follows: 0-4 = none to minimal depression, 5-9 = mild depression, 10-14 = moderate depression, 15-19 = moderately severe depression, 20-27 = severe depression.