Novartis is acquiring Cambridge, Massachusetts-based neuroscience company Cadent Therapeutics for a $210 million upfront payment and potentially $560 million in milestone payments.
Shares of Axsome Therapeutics were up after the company announced positive long-term results from a Phase III major depressive disorder (MDD) study that sets up potential regulatory approval for AXS-05.
Axsome Therapeutics announced that the company’s AXS-05 met the primary endpoint in the ADVANCE-1 Phase II/III clinical trial for agitation in patients with Alzheimer’s disease.
When major depressive disorder does not respond to at least two different types of antidepressant treatments in a moderate-to-severe depressive episode, it’s reclassified as treatment-resistant depression (TRD). South San Francisco-based VistaGen Therapeutics’ AV-101 failed to meet the primary efficacy endpoints for TRD in a Phase II clinical trial.