Bad News for AbbVie as Emraclidine Fails to Perform in Trials

AbbVie saw its valuation drop by around $40 billion following disappointing results from two clinical studies for emraclidine, an investigational drug intended to treat schizophrenia. The company had invested heavily in this drug.
The drug, known as emraclidine, was created by Cerevel Therapeutics, a spinoff of Pfizer, which AbbVie just purchased for nearly $9 billion. It is part of a novel category of brain-balancing medicines that researchers consider essential for addressing various mental disorders. Cerevel selected schizophrenia as the first target for emraclidine and has conducted two trials in recent years to evaluate the drug’s efficacy in rapidly reducing symptoms of the illness.

AbbVie has now revealed that the studies were unsuccessful. Three dosages of the medication were evaluated, and none demonstrated a statistically significant improvement over a placebo after six weeks of therapy. The studies together included over 750 participants and assessed them using a recognized scale designed to assess the many symptoms experienced by individuals with schizophrenia, ranging from “positive” symptoms such as euphoria and hallucinations to “negative” ones like emotional detachment.
Roopal Thakkar, the firm’s chief scientific officer, stated, “While we are disappointed with the results, we are continuing to analyze the data to determine next steps.”
The Illinois-based firm said that neurology continues to be one of its primary areas. Last month, AbbVie revealed intentions to allocate $1.4 billion to acquire a business developing an experimental therapy for Alzheimer’s disease.
The company highlighted the purchase of a comprehensive pipeline of pharmaceutical projects from Cerevel, including various clinical-stage and preclinical prospects that enhance its current portfolio of neurological therapeutics. Net sales from the portfolio, including Botox, reached about $6.5 billion over the first three quarters of the year.
One of the Cerevel medications, tavapadon, used as treatment for Parkinson’s, surpassed analysts’ predictions by achieving success in a late-stage study earlier this year.
Nevertheless, AbbVie investors may not see a significant advantage.
In a prior, smaller schizophrenia experiment, researchers discovered that two doses of emraclidine outperformed a placebo in decreasing scores on the same symptom scale used in the Phase 2 investigations.

Furthermore, emraclidine operates similarly to Cobenfy, an antipsychotic that successfully completed three medium- to large-scale clinical studies prior to obtaining FDA clearance in September. Fewer than three weeks after AbbVie’s announcement of its Cerevel purchase, Bristol Myers Squibb decided to acquire Karuna Therapeutics, the creator of Cobenfy, for $14 billion.
Patients with schizophrenia often change drugs, either due to adverse effects such as weight gain or poor illness management. Clinical trials of Cobenfy showed that it did not induce some of the more severe side effects associated with other antipsychotic medications. Additionally, Cobenfy’s rapid responsiveness has resulted in both Bristol Myers and Wall Street analysts anticipating billions of dollars in peak annual sales for the drug.

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