(Reuters) -Supernus Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday its depression treatment trial failed to meet the main goal of reduction in depressive symptoms, sending its shares down 20% aftermarket. The company said the drug, SPN-820, did not show a statistically significant change compared to placebo when tested in 250 patients with treatment-resistant depression during a mid-stage trial. […]
Health
Supernus’ depression treatment fails mid-stage trial, shares plunge
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(Reuters) -Supernus Pharmaceuticals said on Tuesday its depression treatment trial failed to meet the main goal of reduction in depressive symptoms, sending its shares down 20% aftermarket.
The company said the drug, SPN-820, did not show a statistically significant change compared to placebo when tested in 250 patients with treatment-resistant depression during a mid-stage trial.
Treatment-resistant depression occurs when a person’s depression symptoms persist even after taking multiple antidepressants.
About 5% of adults in the U.S. have regular feelings of depression, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The patients were tested with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, which measures severity of various symptoms of depression such as sadness, inner tension, reduced sleep and inability to feel.
“We will continue to analyze these data and discuss the future of the program with our development partner, Navitor Pharmaceuticals,” said Supernus CEO Jack Khattar.
The company’s experimental therapies include a treatment for severe epilepsy, which is currently in mid-stage development.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Supernus’ drug-device combination, Onapgo, to treat movement-related symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
The company makes treatments that treat psychiatric and neurological conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and migraine.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)