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New Year’s Hangover: Neumora’s Phase III Failure In Depression Surprises

 
• By Joseph Haas

Neumora, one of two firms testing kappa opioid receptor antagonism in depression, failed its first of three Phase III studies. The company’s share price crashed sharply.

depressed Women sitting head in hands on the bed in the dark bedroom with low light environment, dramatic concept
Neumora fails a Phase III study with its novel MDD candidate • Source: Shutterstock

A bad case of post-holiday letdown set in for Neumora Therapeutics and its shareholders on 2 January as the brain disease-focused firm announced the failure of its kappa opioid receptor (KOR) antagonist navacaprant in top-line data from the first of three ongoing Phase III pivotal trials in major depression disorder (MDD). The company will use its 14 January presentation at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference to argue positive data in female patients could offer a path forward.

Key Takeaways
  • Neumora failed the first of three Phase III trials for navacaprant, its kappa opioid receptor antagonist being tested in major depression.
  • Market...

But almost entirely across the board, market analysts called the unsuccessful KOASTAL-1 readout a devastating result that reduces the likelihood of success for the drug in the ongoing KOASTAL-2...

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