NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: AXSM), a biopharmaceutical company developing and delivering novel therapies for the management of central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced a presentation of data from its ACCORD Phase 3 clinical trial of AXS-05, a novel, oral NMDA receptor antagonist and sigma-1 receptor agonist, in patients with Alzheimer’s disease agitation (ADA), at the 16th Clinical Trials on Alzheimer’s Disease (CTAD) Conference, being held in Boston from Oct. 24-27.

“Agitation associated with Alzheimer's dementia is a common and impactful behavioral symptom causing significant distress for patients and their care partners,” said George Grossberg, MD, study author, Professor and Director of the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine. “Agitation is also a significant risk factor for early admission to long term care facilities. The outcome of the ACCORD trial with AXS-05 demonstrating positive efficacy results in agitation associated with Alzheimer's dementia, while being generally well-tolerated, is welcome news."

Results of the trial demonstrated rapid and sustained clinical response in patients with ADA during the open-label AXS-05 treatment phase. During the placebo-controlled randomized withdrawal phase, AXS-05 statistically significantly delayed the time to relapse of agitation symptoms as compared to placebo. AXS-05 was generally well-tolerated in the trial with no new safety signals identified.

“Agitation, which is seen in up to 70% of people with Alzheimer’s disease, is among the most complex, challenging and costly aspects of care and is associated with multiple negative outcomes such as increased caregiver burden, morbidity, mortality, earlier nursing home placement, and overall functional impairment,” said Cecilia Brain, MD, PhD, Vice President of Medical Affairs at Axsome. “The detailed efficacy and safety results of the ACCORD trial support the potential of AXS-05 in this area of significant unmet medical need.”

The poster will be available for viewing in the Poster Hall from 7:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday, Oct. 25 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, Oct. 27. Poster presenters will be on hand for discussion from 7:30-8:30 a.m. Eastern Time as well as during the morning and afternoon coffee breaks each day during the CTAD conference. The poster will also be available through the CTAD digital platform.

Details for the presentation are as follows:

Title: Efficacy and Safety Of AXS-05 in Agitation Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease: Results From ACCORD, a Phase 3, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Relapse Prevention Trial
Presenting Author: George Grossberg, MD, professor and director of the division of geriatric psychiatry at the Saint Louis University School of Medicine
Poster Number: LP093
Theme: New therapies and clinical trials

About the ACCORD Study

ACCORD (Assessing Clinical Outcomes in Alzheimer’s Disease Agitation) was a Phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial to evaluate efficacy and safety of AXS-05 in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) agitation. Patients with a diagnosis of probable Alzheimer’s disease and clinically meaningful agitation associated with their disease were enrolled into a 9-week, open-label period, during which they were treated with AXS-05 and monitored for a sustained clinical response.

Patients who experienced a sustained clinical response during the open-label treatment period were then randomized in a 1:1 ratio, to continue treatment with AXS-05 or to switch to placebo treatment, in a double-blind fashion for up to 26 weeks. Treatment was continued until either a relapse of agitation symptoms or the end of the 26-week double-blind period, whichever occurred first.

The primary endpoint in the study was time from randomization to relapse of Alzheimer’s disease agitation calculated by the Kaplan-Meier estimates and the hazard ratio. The key secondary endpoint, to assess relapse prevention, was the percentage of patients who relapsed. The primary timepoint for open-label efficacy assessments was Week 5 and the key secondary timepoint was Week 2.

About Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) Agitation

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by cognitive decline, and behavioral and psychological symptoms including agitation. AD is the most common form of dementia and afflicts an estimated 6 million individuals in the United States, a number that is anticipated to increase to approximately 14 million by 2050.¹ Agitation is reported in up to 70% of patients with AD and is characterized by emotional distress, aggressive behaviors, disruptive irritability, and disinhibition.² Agitation in patients with AD has been associated with increased caregiver burden, decreased functioning, accelerated cognitive decline, earlier nursing home placement, and increased mortality.^2-4 There are currently no therapies approved by the FDA for the treatment of agitation in patients with AD.

About AXS-05

AXS-05 (dextromethorphan-bupropion) is a novel, oral, patent protected, investigational N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist with multimodal activity under development for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) agitation and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders. AXS-05 utilizes a proprietary formulation and dose of dextromethorphan and bupropion, and Axsome’s metabolic inhibition technology, to modulate the delivery of the components. The dextromethorphan component of AXS-05 is an uncompetitive NMDA receptor antagonist, also known as a glutamate receptor modulator, and a sigma-1 receptor agonist. The bupropion component of AXS-05 serves to increase the bioavailability of dextromethorphan, and is a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor. AXS-05 is covered by a robust patent estate extending out at least to 2037-2040. AXS-05 was granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease agitation in June 2020. AXS-05 is not approved by the FDA for the treatment of AD agitation.

About Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.

Axsome Therapeutics, Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company developing and delivering novel therapies for central nervous system (CNS) conditions that have limited treatment options. Through development of therapeutic options with novel mechanisms of action, we are transforming the approach to treating CNS conditions. At Axsome, we are committed to developing products that meaningfully improve the lives of patients and provide new therapeutic options for physicians. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at axsome.com. The Company may occasionally disseminate material, nonpublic information on the company website.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain matters discussed in this press release are “forward-looking statements”. We may, in some cases, use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. In particular, the Company’s statements regarding trends and potential future results are examples of such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements include risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, the continued commercial success of our Sunosi^® and Auvelity^® products and the success of our efforts to obtain any additional indication(s) with respect to solriamfetol and/or AXS-05; the success, timing and cost of our ongoing clinical trials and anticipated clinical trials for our current product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of initiation, pace of enrollment and completion of the trials (including our ability to fully fund our disclosed clinical trials, which assumes no material changes to our currently projected revenues or expenses), futility analyses and receipt of interim results, which are not necessarily indicative of the final results of our ongoing clinical trials, and/or data readouts, and the number or type of studies or nature of results necessary to support the filing of a new drug application (“NDA”) for any of our current product candidates; our ability to fund additional clinical trials to continue the advancement of our product candidates; the timing of and our ability to obtain and maintain U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) or other regulatory authority approval of, or other action with respect to, our product candidates, including statements regarding the timing of any NDA submission; whether issues identified by FDA in the complete response letter may impact the potential approvability of the Company’s NDA for AXS-07 for the acute treatment of migraine in adults with or without aura, pursuant to our special protocol assessment for the MOMENTUM clinical trial; the Company’s ability to successfully defend its intellectual property or obtain the necessary licenses at a cost acceptable to the Company, if at all; the successful implementation of the Company’s research and development programs and collaborations; the success of the Company’s license agreements; the acceptance by the market of the Company’s products and product candidates, if approved; the Company’s anticipated capital requirements, including the amount of capital required for the continued commercialization of Sunosi and Auvelity and for the Company’s commercial launch of its other product candidates, if approved, and the potential impact on the Company’s anticipated cash runway; unforeseen circumstances or other disruptions to normal business operations arising from or related to COVID-19; and other factors, including general economic conditions and regulatory developments, not within the Company’s control. The factors discussed herein could cause actual results and developments to be materially different from those expressed in or implied by such statements. The forward-looking statements are made only as of the date of this press release and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstance.

Axsome Contacts:

Investors:
Mark Jacobson
Chief Operating Officer
Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.
One World Trade Center, 22^nd Floor
New York, NY 10007
Tel: 212-332-3243
Email: mjacobson@axsome.com
www.axsome.com

Media:

Darren Opland
Director, Corporate Communications
Axsome Therapeutics, Inc.
One World Trade Center, 22^nd Floor
New York, NY 10007
Tel: 929-837-1065
Email: dopland@axsome.com
www.axsome.com

References

1. Alzheimer’s Association. 2020 Alzheimer’s Disease Facts and Figures. Alzheimers Dement. 2020;16(3):391+.
2. Tractenberg RE, et al. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2002;14:11-18.
3. Porsteinsson AP, et al. Expert Opin Pharmacother. 2017;18:611-620.
4. Rabins PV, et al. Alzheimers Dement. 2013;9:204-207.