Karuna Upbeat On New Antipsychotic Mechanism Data

Phase III Studies Could Begin For The Combination Therapy Next Year

Karuna Therapeutics’ top-line Phase II data for a combination of a centrally acting muscarinic agonist, xanomeline, and a peripherally acting muscarinic antagonist, trospium, were greeted with enthusiasm by investors and the Boston, MA-based biotech.  

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Advances have been rare in the development of new medicines for psychosis and schizophrenia over past decades, so the reporting of “thrilling” top-line Phase II results for Karuna Therapeutics Inc.’s novel CNS muscarinic receptor-targeted KarXT (xanomeline/trospium) co-formulation has been greeted with some initial enthusiasm by investors.

This enthusiasm was linked to a four-fold increase in Karuna’s share price, from $17.6 to $96.0 per share, on NASDAQ...

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