Axsome Therapeutics Confirms Pivotal Status and Advancement of AXS-05 for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease Agitation Based on Successful FDA Breakthrough Therapy Meeting
Previously completed positive, pivotal ADVANCE-1 trial sufficient with single additional Phase 3 efficacy trial for NDA in Alzheimer’s disease agitation
Initiation of Phase 3, placebo-controlled, randomized-withdrawal efficacy trial on track for 4Q 2020
Initiation of long-term safety trial in patients with Alzheimer’s disease agitation expected in 4Q 2020
No treatments are currently approved for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease agitation
Results of the meeting confirm the pivotal status of the previously completed positive ADVANCE-1 trial, and the establishment of the superiority of AXS-05 over its components (component contribution) in the treatment of AD agitation. Consequently, only one additional Phase 3 efficacy trial will be needed to support the filing of an NDA (New Drug Application) for approval of AXS-05 in this indication, and only a placebo control will be required for this trial. This additional Phase 3 efficacy trial will be conducted using a randomized-withdrawal design, in which all patients are first treated with open-label AXS-05, with the patients experiencing a treatment response being subsequently randomized in a double-blind fashion to continued treatment with AXS-05 or to switch to placebo. Axsome is on track to initiate this efficacy trial in the fourth quarter of 2020. Axsome also intends to initiate in the fourth quarter an open-label safety extension trial of AXS-05 in AD agitation patients to supplement the existing AXS-05 long-term safety database.
“Axsome is very pleased with the FDA feedback from our recent Breakthrough Therapy meeting, which confirms a streamlined path to NDA submission for AXS-05 in Alzheimer’s disease agitation, including the pivotal status of our completed ADVANCE-1 trial and the need for only one additional placebo-controlled efficacy trial,” said
In
About FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation
Breakthrough Therapy designation is granted by the FDA in order to expedite the development and review of drugs for serious or life-threatening conditions. In order to receive Breakthrough Therapy designation, a drug must demonstrate preliminary clinical evidence that the drug may have substantial improvement on at least one clinically significant endpoint over available therapy. Breakthrough Therapy designation provides an organizational commitment involving senior managers from the FDA, more intensive FDA guidance on an efficient drug development program, and greater access to and more frequent communication with the FDA throughout the entire drug development and review process. It also provides the opportunity to submit sections of a New Drug Application (NDA) on a rolling basis, where the FDA may review portions of the NDA as they are received instead of waiting for the entire NDA submission. In addition, Breakthrough Therapy designated products are eligible for Priority Review, where the FDA has a goal to take action on an application within six months, as opposed to ten months under standard review. Breakthrough Therapy designation does not change the standards for approval.
About Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) Agitation
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline, and behavioral and psychological symptoms including agitation. AD is the most common form of dementia and afflicts an estimated 6 million individuals in
About AXS-05
AXS-05 is a novel, oral, patent-protected, investigational NMDA receptor antagonist with multimodal activity under development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease agitation, major depressive disorder, and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders. AXS-05 consists of a proprietary formulation and dose of dextromethorphan and bupropion and utilizes Axsome’s metabolic inhibition technology. The dextromethorphan component of AXS-05 is a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist, also known as a glutamate receptor modulator, a sigma-1 receptor agonist, an inhibitor of the serotonin and norepinephrine transporters, a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist, and an inhibitor of microglial activation. The bupropion component of AXS-05 serves to increase the bioavailability of dextromethorphan, and is a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor, and a nicotinic acetylcholine receptor antagonist. AXS-05 is covered by more than 42 issued
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References
1. Alzheimer’s Association. 2020 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Alzheimers Dement 2020;16(3):391+.
2. Tractenberg RE, Weiner MF, Thal LJ. Estimating the prevalence of agitation in community-dwelling persons with Alzheimer’s disease. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2002;14:11-18.
3. Porsteinsson AP, Antonsdottir IM. An update on the advancements in the treatment of agitation in Alzheimer’s disease. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2017;18:611-620.
4. Rabins PV, Schwartz S, Black BS, Corcoran C, Fauth E, Mielke M, Christensen J, Lyketsos C, Tschanz J. Predictors of progression to severe Alzheimer's disease in an incidence sample. Alzheimers Dement. 2013;9:204-207.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain matters discussed in this press release are “forward-looking statements”. We may, in some cases, use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. In particular, the Company’s statements regarding trends and potential future results are examples of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the success, timing and cost of our ongoing clinical trials and anticipated clinical trials for our current product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of initiation, pace of enrollment and completion of the trials (including our ability to fully fund our disclosed clinical trials, which assumes no material changes to our currently projected expenses), futility analyses and receipt of interim results, which are not necessarily indicative of the final results of our ongoing clinical trials, and the number or type of studies or nature of results necessary to support the filing of a new drug application (“NDA”) for any of our current product candidates; our ability to fund additional clinical trials to continue the advancement of our product candidates; the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain
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Chief Operating Officer
Tel: 212-332-3243
Email: mjacobson@axsome.com
www.axsome.com
Source: Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.