China
Key Insights
- 1
No psychedelic is legally approved for routine patient use in China; only esketamine nasal spray is approved, and access remains tightly controlled.
- 2
Blossom tracks 30 trials in China, 7 active, across 17 organisations; esketamine and placebo dominate the active portfolio, with ketamine and mescaline legacy studies.
- 3
China’s standout milestone is the 2023 mainland approval of esketamine nasal spray, making it a rare regulated rapid-acting antidepressant option in psychiatry.
- 4
Momentum is centred on depression infrastructure: Chinese centres are building rapid-treatment pathways, while post-2023 esketamine use and safety management continue to shape the field.
Reimbursed Care Access
China maintains a strict national drug-control regime: most classic psychedelics and novel/tryptamine derivatives are scheduled and only accessible in approved research or are prohibited, while ketamine (as an anaesthetic) remains an authorised medical drug in clinical settings. In recent years the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has approved a commercial esketamine nasal spray for specific psychiatric indications (with national regulation and local implementation requirements), but routine public-insurance reimbursement for psychedelic-assisted therapies is effectively absent and non‑approved compounds remain subject to criminal/administrative control.
Quick Indicators
Organizations
20Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (Guangzhou Huiai Hospital)
Guangzhou, China
Beijing Chaoyang District Third Hospital
China
Beijing Daxing District Xinkang Hospital
China
Beijing Medical Award Foundation
China
Beijing Sanbo Brain Hospital
China
Beijing Tiantan Hospital
China
Children's Hospital of Fudan University
China
China Medical University, China
China
Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR)
First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University
China
Henan Provincial People's Hospital
China
Huazhong University of Science and Technology
China
Hunan Provincial Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital
China
Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Mental Health Center
China
Jiangsu HengRui Medicine Co., Ltd.
China
Nanfang Hospital, Southern Medical University
China
Peking University First Hospital
China
Qinghai Red Cross Hospital
China
Qinghai University
China
Southwest University
Chongqing, China
Clinical Trials
Active and completed clinical trials investigating psychedelic-assisted therapies in China.