The new INDEPTH – Innovative Depression Treatment and Health Research Program has officially launched to speed up the development of breakthrough treatments for people living with treatment-resistant depression. Supported by a €4 million public-private partnership grant from Top Sector Life Sciences & Health (Health~Holland), the program brings together a consortium of leading academic centers, mental healthcare providers and industry partners that will work together to turn research into real-world clinical solutions.
Depression affects nearly one in five people during their lifetime. Despite available therapies, 20–30% of patients do not recover with standard treatment and develop treatment-resistant depression. In the Netherlands alone, depression leads to approximately €1.6 billion in direct healthcare costs and €1.8 billion in lost productivity each year.
The INDEPTH program aims to close the gap between research and care by facilitating the development, validation and implementation of innovative treatment strategies. These include both pharmacological and non-pharmacological therapies, as well as advanced clinical decision-making tools.
The program is coordinated by University Medical Center Groningen (Department of psychiatry), GGZ ingest (Department of psychiatry), Pro Persona (Expertise centrum Depressie) and Parnassia Groep (TOPGGz-afdeling Expertisenetwerk Hardnekkige Depressie). It builds on already existing data-infrastructure collaboration in the Netherlands Network for Difficult-to-Treat Depression and is supported by the nationwide clinical network DepressieNet.
INDEPTH aims to support collaborative projects between research institutes and companies focused on applied innovation in two research & development areas: new or improved treatments for treatment-resistant depression and tools that support personalized clinical decision-making.
A call for proposals will be announced in April 2026. An information session and a matchmaking session will be scheduled in April and May to prepare for the submission of proposal ideas.
The PPP subsidy is made available by the Top Sector Life Sciences & Health (Health~Holland) to drive innovation within the Life Sciences & Health (LSH) sector. Through the programs, parties have the opportunity to jointly select and support PPP projects with the PPP subsidy from Health~Holland. The overview of selected PPP programs is available at Programs | Health~Holland.
For information about the INDEPTH program, please contact: [email protected]
