Schizophrenia
Boehringer Ingelheim’s trio of late-stage schizophrenia failures on Thursday came a day after the Department of Health and Human Services hit back on the pharma’s legal challenge to the IRA’s drug price negotiation program.
Among Intra-Cellular’s neuropsychiatric assets is Caplyta, a pill approved for schizophrenia and bipolar depression and proposed for major depressive disorder.
Emraclidine was the centerpiece of AbbVie’s $8.7 billion acquisition of Cerevel in December 2023 but failed two mid-stage trials. Tavapadon, meanwhile, has been a more rewarding asset for the pharma, clearing three Phase III Parkinson’s studies in 2024.
Among the 55 novel drugs that crossed the regulatory finish line last year were notable new mechanisms of action, coming particularly in the oncology and neurosciences spaces.
This year saw lofty highs and devastating lows for neuroscience drug developers like Bristol Myers Squibb, Eli Lilly and AbbVie, following the predictable pattern of successes and failures that characterizes this space.
Some 90% of investigational drugs fail—and success rates are even more dire in the neuro space. Here, BioSpace looks at five clinical trial flops that stole headlines over the past 12 months.
Tavapadon improved motor and daily living complications at week 26. The news comes nearly one month to the day after AbbVie announced the Phase II failure of another key Cerevel asset, emraclidine.
With the failure of AbbVie’s emraclidine in two mid-stage trials, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy is ‘sole muscarinic winner.’
A tale of two multi-billion schizophrenia deals, AstraZeneca touts strong sales while deflecting questions about an investigation into China exec, the Huntington’s pipeline builds momentum and layoffs continue with Sana Biotechnology and 23andMe.
The shocking failure of AbbVie’s emraclidine has investors questioning the Big Pharma’s long-term neuroscience strategy, which put the drug at the center of expectations.
PRESS RELEASES