Neurocrine’s depression drug fails trial, but investors shrug

Neurocrine’s experimental antidepressant NBI-’770 failed to outperform placebo in a mid-stage trial, but the company will continue analyzing the data for potential next steps.

Why it matters: The setback highlights the high risk of developing new depression drugs, but with low investor expectations for this candidate, the market impact was minimal.

Backstory: The Phase 2 study involved 73 adults with major depressive disorder who hadn’t responded well to current antidepressants. NBI-’770 aimed to inhibit brain proteins linked to depression but failed to show meaningful symptom improvement over placebo.

Big picture: While NBI-’770 flounders, Neurocrine’s more advanced depression drug, osavampator, is still in late-stage testing. The company’s overall pipeline includes 12 programs, with strong revenue coming from its approved drugs Ingrezza and Crenessity.

Zoom in: Shares initially dipped but rebounded after hours, though broader concerns over Neurocrine’s core products caused a brief 9% drop. Neurocrine reported Q3 net sales up 28% year-over-year, led by $785M in combined revenue from Ingrezza and Crenessity. The company will assess whether any signals from the failed study justify further development of NBI-’770.