AbbVie’s Schizophrenia Drug Fails in Phase II Trials, Casting Doubt on Neuroscience Strategy

Drug Failure:
AbbVie's schizophrenia drug, emraclidine, failed to meet its primary endpoints in two Phase II clinical trials, EMPOWER-1 and EMPOWER-2, leading to a significant drop in the company's stock price124.

Acquisition Impact:
The failure of emraclidine, acquired as part of an $8.7 billion deal with Cerevel Therapeutics, raises questions about the value of the acquisition and AbbVie's long-term neuroscience strategy24.

Market Reaction:
AbbVie's stock price fell over 12% following the announcement, while Bristol Myers Squibb, which has a competing schizophrenia drug, saw its stock price rise by over 11%45.

Clinical Trial Details:
The trials evaluated emraclidine's efficacy in reducing symptoms of schizophrenia using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Despite numerical improvements, the changes were not statistically significant24.

Competitive Landscape:
Bristol Myers Squibb's drug, KarXT (xanomeline-trospium), has shown promising results in Phase III trials and is forecast to reach $2.81 billion in annual sales by 20334.

Future Plans:
AbbVie is continuing to analyze the data to determine next steps for emraclidine, which is also in Phase I testing for Alzheimer’s disease psychosis25.

Sources:

1. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-11-11/abbvie-tumbles-after-new-schizophrenia-drug-fails-in-two-trials

2. https://www.biospace.com/drug-development/abbvie-shares-plummet-12-as-cerevel-schizophrenia-asset-fails-phase-ii-trials

4. https://www.clinicaltrialsarena.com/news/abbvie-stock-plummets-over-12-after-schizophrenia-drug-flops-in-phase-ii-trials/

5. https://medcitynews.com/2024/11/abbvie-schizophrenia-emraclidine-clinical-trial-failure-m4-abbv/