Shares of Vanda Pharmaceuticals shot up this morning after researchers announced that its late-stage trial for treating chronic insomnia hit its primary endpoint. The goal was to demonstrate the immediate and intermediate ability of tasimelteon to improve the onset of sleep. The 322 volunteers of the study suffering from chronic primary insomnia received either a 20 mg or 50 mg dose of the drug or a placebo. The study also produced statistically significant data on sleep maintenance. The drug is a melatonin agonist and may be particularly useful treating people who suffer from insomnia due to late shifts.

"The mechanism of action of tasimelteon as a circadian regulator gives Vanda the opportunity to explore its use for the treatment of circadian rhythm sleep disorders as well as chronic primary insomnia," stated Paolo Baroldi, MD, PhD, Vanda's chief medical officer.

- check out Vanda's release [1]
- read the AP story [2]

Related Articles:
Vanda Pharmaceuticals--Worst Pharma Stocks of 2007 [3]
Vanda gains on late-stage sleep trial data [3]