Fewer side effects seen in schizophrenia study
By Penni Crabtree
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
March 20, 2007
Shares of Acadia Pharmaceuticals doubled yesterday after the company said that adding its experimental schizophrenia drug to a blockbuster drug already on the market improved treatment of the mental illness and caused fewer side effects.
The San Diego biotech's stock soared $6.92 to $13.61, on trading of 21.5 million shares – more than 100 times the usual volume for the tiny company, which employs 140 locally and in Sweden.
The positive drug results came from a mid-stage, Phase 2 study of Acadia's most advanced drug candidate, dubbed ACP 103. When used as an adjunct with Johnson & Johnson's Risperdal, a common treatment for schizophrenia, the combination reduced symptoms such as delusions and emotional withdrawal, worked more quickly and reduced drug side effects such as weight gain.
Results from a Phase 2 study don't always trigger such a feverish investor reaction, since many experimental treatments go on to fail in final, Phase 3 studies. But some Wall Street analysts said ACP 103 is particularly promising.
Current treatments often are limited by dose-related side effects that keep patients from using them for prolonged periods. The Acadia treatment increased the efficacy of Risperdal, which could allow patients to use more reduced dosages over a longer period of time.
ACP 103, if proven effective in advanced studies, could piggy-back on Risperdal, which did about $3.5 billion in sales in 2005, and may work with the leading schizophrenia drug, Eli Lilly & Co.'s blockbuster Zyprexa, which generates more than $4 billion in sales.
Nor is the drug necessarily a one-trick pony. For instance, it showed promise in Phase 2 studies in reducing psychosis associated with Parkinson's disease without causing additional negative symptoms. A Phase 3 study in that disease is planned for later this year.
Dr. Charles Duncan, an analyst at JMP Securities, estimates sales of Acadia's drug could reach $500 million by 2012, and could go higher depending on whether it is used with multiple antipsychotics.
“This could be a game-changer in terms of providing a novel approach to treating schizophrenia,” Duncan said. “This cleans up the activity of an atypical antipsychotic.”
Uli Hacksell, chief executive officer of Acadia, said the biotech will seek a large drug company partner that can advance ACP 103 into Phase 3 studies and provide “marketing muscle” if it wins regulatory approval.
“The excitement over the data is not surprising. It is a huge market with major unmet needs,” said Hacksell, whose company went public in 2004. “The whole area in general is waiting for meaningful clinical advances . . . the data will be exciting for a lot of different companies.”
Acadia already has collaborations with drug companies to develop experimental drugs, including treatments for neuropathic pain and glaucoma that are being developed with Orange County-based Allergan.
Reuters contributed to this report. |
