WALTHAM, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Alkermes, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALKS) today announced preliminary results from a phase 2 clinical study of ALKS 33, one of Alkermes’ proprietary candidates for the treatment of reward disorders and other central nervous system (CNS) disorders. The 12-week study was designed to assess the safety and efficacy of daily oral administration of three different dose levels of ALKS 33 compared to placebo in 400 alcohol dependent patients. In addition to more traditional measurements of efficacy, the study also tested a new efficacy endpoint previously untested in a clinical trial, which was a measurement of complete abstinence from heavy drinking. The preliminary results of the study showed that once daily administration of ALKS 33 was generally well tolerated at all three dose levels. While the difference in complete abstinence from heavy drinking between treatment groups did not reach statistical significance, patients treated with all three doses of ALKS 33 demonstrated a significant reduction in heavy drinking days in a dose dependent manner compared to placebo. Patients on the highest dose of ALKS 33 showed the greatest relative reduction in heavy drinking days of 41% compared to placebo.
