Vistagen Initiates Phase 3 Study of Fasedienol for Social Anxiety Disorder

  VistaGen Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VTGN), a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering neuroscience to deliver groundbreaking therapies for individuals affected by psychiatric and neurological disorders, today announced that it has enrolled the first patient in its PALISADE-3 Phase 3 trial of fasedienol, an investigational pherine candidate in development for the acute treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD).

“Initiating PALISADE-3 is another major milestone in our plan to develop and commercialize fasedienol as the first treatment of its kind for social anxiety disorder,” said Shawn Singh, Chief Executive Officer. “We look forward to initiating PALISADE-4 in the second half of this year and advancing our innovative pherine pipeline to deliver pioneering neuroscience to patients affected by mental health disorders and unsatisfied with current treatments.”

PALISADE-3, similar to PALISADE-2, is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study designed to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the acute administration of fasedienol to relieve anxiety symptoms in patients with SAD induced by a public speaking challenge conducted in a clinical setting. The primary outcome measure is the patient self-rated Subjective Units of Distress Scale (SUDS). The U.S. multi-center study is planned to randomize approximately 236 adults ages 18 through 65. Patients will be randomized in a 1:1 ratio to fasedienol or placebo. Patients who complete PALISADE-3 will have an option to enroll in an open-label extension. Vistagen plans to initiate PALISADE-4, which will be a replicate of PALISADE-3, during the second half of 2024.

About Fasedienol Nasal Spray

Vistagen’s fasedienol (PH94B) is a first-in-class, rapid-onset investigational pherine nasal spray with a novel proposed mechanism of action (MOA) that is differentiated from all currently approved anxiety medications, including the SSRIs and SNRI currently approved for the treatment of social anxiety disorder (SAD), as well as benzodiazepines prescribed off-label. Fasedienol’s proposed MOA regulates the olfactory-amygdala neural circuits of fear and anxiety and attenuates the tone of the sympathetic autonomic nervous system, without systemic distribution, potentiation of GABA-A receptors, or direct activity on neurons in the brain. Vistagen’s registration-directed PALISADE Phase 3 program for fasedienol is focused on the acute treatment of SAD. Fasedienol has not demonstrated any signals of abuse potential or physical dependence in any clinical trial conducted to date.

The U.S. FDA has granted Fast Track designation for the investigation of fasedienol for the acute treatment of SAD.

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/vistagen-initiates-palisade-3-phase-3-study-of-fasedienol-for-the-acute-treatment-of-social-anxiety-disorder-following-positive-results-of-palisade-2/