Corcept Therapeutics says the second of three late-stage trials for its experimental therapy Corlux for treating the psychotic features of major depression has failed to hit either primary or two key secondary endpoints. The company announced last month that the first trial had also ended in failure, sending its shares down sharply. Corcept says it has enough cash on hand to finish the third and last pivotal trial that is now underway and is expected to wrap early next year.
"As was the case in study 07, our previously announced Phase III clinical trial, there was an unusually high placebo response rate in study 09," noted Robert L. Roe, M.D., Corcept's president and head of development. "At day 56, for example, approximately 95 percent of the patients in both of the arms of the study were responders as measured by a 50 percent improvement in BPRS PSS score."
- see the release on the trial data