Frontlight ResearchEarly access
Taking people in GermanyPhase 2
Tests two dexamfetamine forms in adults with ADHD and depression
Tests two dexamfetamine forms against placebo in adults with ADHD and depression.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Fraunhofer Institute For Translational Medicine And Pharmacology ITMP
- Where
- Berlin, Bonn, Frankfurt Am Main, Leipzig, and Munich, GermanySee the 5 sites
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of two dexamfetamine sulfate formulations in adults with ADHD and moderate to severe depression (DEXAD)
- Status
- Recruiting
- Phase
- Phase 2
- People taking part
- 105 people, planned
- Started
- 22 May 2025
- Expected to end
- 30 Sept 2027
- Type of study
- Interventional
- Record updated
- 28 August 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults with ADHD that began in childhood and moderate to severe depression. It tests two forms of dexamfetamine sulfate against placebo.
- Age
- 18 years up to 65 years (the record lists 18 Years to 64 Years, and the criteria say 18 to 65).
- Sex
- All sexes can join.
- Disease stage
- ADHD that started before age 12, with an ADHD score (ADHS-DC-Q) of at least 32. Moderate to severe depression (ICD-10 code F32 or F33) with a MADRS score above 20 and CGI-S of 4 or more.
- Earlier treatment
- Must be free of ADHD medicine, or willing to stop it for the whole trial. People on an SSRI or SNRI (citalopram, escitalopram, sertraline or venlafaxine) at a stable dose in the last 2 weeks can join, within the dose limits in the record.
- Biomarker or test result
- QTc heart interval within normal range: 470 ms or less in men, 480 ms or less in women.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Psychosis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or mania, now or in the past
- Tourette's syndrome or dystonia, or a family history of it
- Pregnancy or breastfeeding
- Substance abuse disorder in the last 6 months
- Body mass index below 18.5 or above 35
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 30 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Diagnosis of attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (according to DSM-5 or ICD guidelines) which started in childhood (at the age of <12 years)
- Patient is either free of stimulant medication or who, after discussion with his / her treating physician, is able and willing to discontinue the current psychotropic medication(s) for treatment of ADHD symptoms (specifically, methylphenidate, lisdexamfetamine, guanfacine or atomoxetine or any other medication approved for the treatment of ADHD) ) for the duration of the study, as well as is able and willing to discontinue all relevant co-medication according to exclusion criterion no. 20a-s for comorbid conditions during the clinical trial, if applicable
- Patient has a minimum ADHS-DC-Q total score of 32 at baseline (V0)
- Moderate to severe depression according to ICD-10 (depressive episode: Code F32; recurrent depressive disorder: Code F33) and with a MADRS score of >20 at baseline (V0)
- CGI-S ≥ 4 at baseline (V0)
- Patients receiving SSRIs or SNRIs (stable doses within the last 2 weeks before inclusion) (≤40 mg (es)citalopram, 50-200 mg sertraline, 75 - 300 mg venlafaxine extended release)
- Male or female patients ≥ 18 years and ≤ 65 at time of enrolment
- Patients with QTc interval within normal ranges (≤470 ms in males and ≤480 ms in females)
- Written informed consent and data protection declaration obtained prior to the initiation of any protocol required procedures
- Willing and able to comply to study procedures and study protocol
Who cannot take part
- Participation in another interventional clinical trial during the trial and within the previous 30 days prior to trial start
- Current use and use within the last 2 weeks before inclusion of not permitted concomitant medication (as defined in protocol) due to possible interactions with stimulants or SSRIs/SNRIs and possible resulting or expected side effects:
- Current or a history of severe co-morbid symptoms such as psychotic symptoms, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders or manic episodes
- Diagnosis or family history of Tourette’s syndrome or dystonia
- Pre-existing cerebrovascular disorders such as cerebral aneurysm, vascular abnormalities including vasculitis or stroke
- Immunodeficiency disorders (e.g. organ transplantation, HIV infection)
- Known hypersensitivity to any of the ingredients of the trial medication, e.g. patients with known rare hereditary problems of fructose intolerance
- Current or recent history of substance abuse disorder within the last 6 months of clinical trial entry
- History of serotonin syndrome events
- History of seizures or use of anticonvulsant medication
- Any other uncontrolled psychiatric condition that requires medication or may interfere with trial participation
- Known symptomatic cardiovascular disease including structural abnormalities, moderate and severe hypertension (systolic blood pressure ≥160 mmHg, diastolic blood pressure ≥100 mmHg), heart failure, myocardial infarction, arterial occlusive disease, angina, haemodynamically significant congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathies, potentially life-threatening arrhythmias and channelopathies (diseases caused by ion channel dysfunction)
- Significant, in the discretion of the investigator, hepatic, gastrointestinal, renal, haematological or oncologic disorder
- Males or females of reproductive potential not willing to use effective contraception (defined as PEARL index <1 - e.g. contraceptive pill, IUD) during the study period (Screening to Follow-up)
- Pregnancy and lactation
- Patients who are institutionalised by court order or regulatory action
- Patients, who are members of the staff of the trial centre, staff of the sponsor or involved Clinical Research Organisation (CRO), the investigator him- / herself or close relatives of the investigator
- Legal incapacity and/ or other circumstances rendering the patient unable to understand the nature, scope and possible impact of the clinical trial
- Patients with body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m² or >35 kg/m²
- Diagnosis of glaucoma, hyperthyroidism, pheochromocytoma or porphyria
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 64 years old?
Where in Germany
- Charite Universitaetsmedizin Berlin KöRBerlin, GermanyTaking people
- Universitaetsklinikum Bonn AöRBonn, GermanyTaking people
- Goethe University FrankfurtFrankfurt Am Main, GermanyTaking people
- Universitaet LeipzigLeipzig, GermanyTaking people
- Klinikum der Universitaet Muenchen AöRMunich, GermanyTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
to assess the incidence of adverse events in the active treatment groups (DEX IR and DEX XL) compared to placebo within the study period (V1 – V6)
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on the EU's official list of trials (CTIS).
- Official title
- Randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial to investigate the safety and efficacy of two dexamfetamine sulfate formulations in adults with ADHD and moderate to severe depression (DEXAD)
- Plain-language title
- Tests two dexamfetamine forms in adults with ADHD and depressionGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 9 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from 2024-515395-12-00, who can take part
- Record updated
- 28 August 2026