Johnson & Johnson has added to the opioid kappa blues. Months after Neumora reported a phase 3 flop, J&J has stopped development of its rival drug candidate aticaprant as an adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD).
Aticaprant and Neumora’s navacaprant are oral opioid kappa receptor antagonists. Navacaprant failed a phase 3 MDD trial in January. Earlier this week, Neumora halted one trial of the candidate and paused two late-stage studies after assessing a data set that was even worse than analysts feared based on the top-line failure.
Neumora has cited phase 2 aticaprant data as evidence that its mechanism works and that its failed trial may be an anomaly. That argument took a hit after the stock market closed Thursday, when J&J said it is stopping a phase 3 aticaprant program because of insufficient efficacy in the target patient population.
J&J is yet to give up on aticaprant. Noting that the molecule was safe and well tolerated, the Big Pharma said it will “explore future development opportunities for aticaprant in other areas of high unmet need.” The abandoned indication was the big near-term sales opportunity, though. J&J tipped (PDF) aticaprant to generate peak sales of $1 billion to $5 billion a year in the setting late in 2023.
The Big Pharma made the forecast as it laid out its vision for becoming the No. 1 neuroscience company by 2030. J&J took a shortcut toward that goal in January by inking a deal to buy Intra-Cellular Therapies for $14.6 billion. Buying Intra-Cellular will give J&J control of Caplyta, a drug that has delivered phase 3 wins in MDD.
Having seen J&J bolster its MDD portfolio, Wolfe Research analyst Alexandria Hammond, Ph.D., asked (PDF) the company on an earnings call in January whether people should “expect a deprioritization of seltorexant and aticaprant.” John Reed, M.D., Ph.D., executive vice president, innovative medicine, R&D at J&J, said “absolutely not,” because “J&J needs unique mechanisms that can play in different subpopulations.”