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 pharmaceutical giant revealed that while the experimental medication demonstrated acceptable safety profiles, it failed to show sufficient effectiveness in treating patients with difficult-to-manage MDD and severe anhedonia – a core depression symptom characterized by the inability to feel pleasure or maintain interest in activities.
The decision comes after conducting extensive late-stage clinical trials evaluating aticaprant as a supplementary treatment option for depression patients. Despite previous optimistic projections suggesting the drug could generate between $1 billion and $5 billion in peak annual sales, as outlined by J&J in late 2023, the company will now explore alternative therapeutic applications for the compound in other areas of unmet medical need.
J&J maintains its commitment to neuroscience research, highlighting its recent $15 billion acquisition of Intra-Cellular Therapies, which produces the psychiatric medication Caplyta. The company also affirmed its medicines division remains on track to achieve projected growth rates of 5-7% annually, following last year’s revenue of $57 billion, which represented a 4% increase from 2023.
The development setback impacts not only J&J but reverberates through the broader pharmaceutical landscape, particularly affecting companies working on similar drug mechanisms. Neumora Therapeutics, a biotech startup developing comparable kappa opioid receptor-blocking medications, saw its stock decline approximately 5% following J&J’s announcement. This comes after Neumora already experienced significant challenges when its own drug, navacaprant, failed to outperform placebo in treating moderate-to-severe MDD earlier this year.
Market analysts have responded swiftly to the news. Wall Street projections had previously estimated aticaprant would achieve roughly $1 billion in annual sales by 2032, according to Leerink Partners analyst David Risinger. The termination of the depression trials may complicate J&J’s stated ambition to become the leading neuroscience company by 2030, though the pharmaceutical giant maintains a robust pipeline with nearly 20 other potential blockbuster drugs under development.
The announcement has cast further doubt on the viability of kappa opioid receptor antagonists as a drug class for treating depression. RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams suggested the news could eliminate remaining optimism for these compounds in depression treatment. Similarly, Stifel analyst Paul Matteis downgraded Neumora’s stock rating to “Hold,” describing J&J’s decision as a “big blow” to the therapeutic approach.
The impact on Neumora has been particularly severe, with its stock value plummeting more than 90% since its initial public offering. The company, which launched in late 2021 with $500 million in backing from prominent venture capital firms including Arch Venture Partners and Polaris Partners, along with Amgen, now trades at approximately $1.45 per share.
The development of kappa opioid receptor antagonists continues elsewhere in the industry, with AbbVie pursuing early-stage testing of a similar compound acquired through its Cerevel Therapeutics purchase. However, J&J’s decision to abandon depression trials for aticaprant has raised significant questions about the future of this drug class in treating major depressive disorder.