The Food and Drug Administration has rejected an experimental schizophrenia drug from Minerva Neurosciences, denying the biotechnology company’s attempt to secure approval over the regulator’s objections.
In a Tuesday statement, Minerva said the FDA found clinical trial evidence for the drug to be insufficient, and cited other shortcomings in the company’s application. The agency indicated Minerva’s submission lacked enough data on the drug’s safety over one year of treatment, for example.
Minerva plans to request a follow-up meeting with the FDA to see if it can address the regulator’s concerns. Currently, the agency is asking Minerva to obtain positive results from another “well-controlled” clinical trial.
The FDA’s decision sets back many years of effort by Minerva to secure approval of its drug for schizophrenia, called roluperidone and designed to treat so-called negative symptoms of the condition.
The company, which licensed rights to roluperidone from Mitsubishi Tanabe nearly two decades ago, advanced the drug into Phase 3 testing in late 2017 after promising mid-stage study results.
However, an initial phase of that study turned up negative data, prompting skepticism from FDA officials that Minerva had enough evidence to seek approval. The company pressed on, studying roluperidone in an open-label extension and submitting an application to the FDA in August 2022.
The FDA refused to accept Minerva’s filing, but in 2023, the biotech successfully appealed via a process designed to resolve disputes between drug sponsors and the regulator.
Tuesday’s decision indicates the FDA’s view of roluperidone hasn’t changed. Minerva outlined four main objections raised by the agency, most notably its determination that the positive Phase 2 study was “insufficient on its own to establish substantial evidence of effectiveness.”
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