Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson announced Thursday it will discontinue development of aticaprant for major depressive disorder (MDD), dealing a significant blow to what was once considered a promising drug candidate with blockbuster potential.
The company revealed that while the experimental drug demonstrated acceptable safety profiles, it failed to show sufficient effectiveness in treating patients with difficult-to-treat MDD and
moderate-to-severe anhedonia, a key depression symptom characterized by the inability to feel pleasure or interest in activities.
Despite this setback, J&J maintains it will explore other potential therapeutic applications for aticaprant in areas with significant unmet medical needs. The company emphasized its ongoing commitment to neuroscience research, pointing to its recent $15 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies, which produces the mental health medication Caplyta.
The pharmaceutical company reassured investors that this development would not impact its medicines division’s projected compound annual growth rate of 5-7%. The division reported $57 billion in revenue for the previous year, representing a 4% increase from 2023.
Financial analysts, including Leerink Partners’ David Risinger, had projected annual sales of approximately $1 billion for aticaprant by 2032. J&J’s own estimates were even more optimistic, with late 2023 forecasts suggesting peak annual sales between $1 billion and $5 billion.
The news had minimal impact on J&J’s stock, which actually rose more than 1% following the announcement. However, the development created ripples throughout the biotechnology sector, particularly affecting Neumora Therapeutics, whose shares declined nearly 5%. Neumora, which went public in 2023 after securing substantial venture capital funding, is developing a similar drug targeting kappa opioid receptors – proteins involved in mood regulation, stress response, and pain perception.
This announcement follows Neumora’s own setback earlier this year when its drug navacaprant failed to outperform placebo in treating moderate-to-severe MDD. The company’s stock has plummeted more than 90% since its initial public offering, trading at approximately $1.45 per share by late Friday morning.
RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams suggested that J&J’s decision could eliminate remaining optimism about the effectiveness of these types of drugs in treating depression. Stifel analyst Paul Matteis echoed this sentiment, downgrading Neumora’s stock to “Hold” and describing the news as a significant blow to the potential of kappa opioid receptor-targeting drugs.
The development also raises questions about similar drugs in development, including one being tested by AbbVie, which acquired the compound through its Cerevel Therapeutics purchase. That drug is currently in Phase 1 clinical trials.
Despite this setback, J&J maintains a robust pipeline with nearly 20 other novel drug programs that it believes could achieve blockbuster status. However, the termination of aticaprant’s development for depression may complicate the company’s stated goal of becoming the leading neuroscience company by 2030.
The decision highlights the challenges and risks inherent in pharmaceutical development, particularly in the complex field of mental health treatment, where many promising drug candidates fail to demonstrate sufficient efficacy in late-stage clinical trials despite showing early promise.