NEW YORK, Dec. 23, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. (Nasdaq:ITCI), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, today announced initiation of enrollment for the Phase 3 clinical trials in the Company’s bipolar depression program: ITI-007-401 Monotherapy and ITI-007-402 Adjunctive Therapy to Lithium or Valproate.
“We are pleased to announce the progress of our ITI-007 clinical development program with the enrollment of our first patients in our Phase 3 program for the treatment of bipolar depression. This represents a significant milestone towards our goal of bringing ITI-007 to patients suffering from neuropsychiatric and neurological conditions,” said Dr. Sharon Mates, Chairman and CEO of Intra-Cellular Therapies.
About the ITI-007-401 and ITI-007-402 Phase 3 Trials
The bipolar depression program consists of two Phase 3 multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trials: one to evaluate ITI-007 as a monotherapy and the other to evaluate ITI-007 as an adjunctive therapy with lithium or valproate. In each trial, approximately 550 patients with a clinical diagnosis of Bipolar I or Bipolar II disorder and who are experiencing a current major depressive episode will be randomized to receive one of three treatments: 60 mg ITI-007, 40 mg ITI-007, or placebo in a 1:1:1 ratio orally once daily for 6 weeks. In the ITI-007-401 trial, patients will receive ITI-007 or placebo as a monotherapy. In the ITI-007-402 trial, patients will receive ITI-007 or placebo adjunctive to their existing mood stabilizer lithium or valproate.
The primary endpoint for both clinical trials is change from baseline at Day 42 on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score versus placebo. The MADRS is a well-validated 10-item checklist that measures the ability of a drug to reduce overall severity of depressive symptoms. Individual items are rated by an expert clinician on a scale of 0 to 6 in which a score of 6 represents the most depressed evaluation for each item assessed. The total score ranges from 0 to 60. Secondary endpoints include measures of social function and quality of life that may illustrate the differentiated clinical profile of ITI-007. Safety and tolerability are also assessed in both clinical trials.
About ITI-007
ITI-007 is our lead drug development candidate with mechanisms of action that, we believe, have the potential to yield a first-in-class therapy for multiple therapeutic indications. In our pre-clinical and clinical trials to date, ITI-007 combines potent serotonin 5-HT2A receptor antagonism, dopamine receptor phosphoprotein modulation (DPPM), glutamatergic modulation, and serotonin reuptake inhibition into a single drug candidate for the treatment of acute and residual schizophrenia, as well as for the treatment of bipolar disorder, including bipolar depression. At dopamine D2 receptors, ITI-007 has been demonstrated to have dual properties and to act as both a post-synaptic antagonist and a pre-synaptic partial agonist. ITI-007 has also been demonstrated to stimulate phosphorylation of glutamatergic NMDA GluN2B receptors in a mesolimbic specific manner. We believe that this regional selectivity in brain areas thought to mediate the efficacy of antipsychotic drugs, together with serotonergic, glutamatergic, and dopaminergic interactions, may result in efficacy for a broad array of symptoms associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with improved psychosocial function. The serotonin reuptake inhibition potentially allows for antidepressant activity in the treatment of schizoaffective disorder, co-morbid depression, and/or as a stand-alone treatment for major depressive disorder. We believe ITI-007 may also be useful for the treatment of other psychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, particularly behavioral disturbances associated with dementia, autism, and other CNS diseases.
About Bipolar Depression
Bipolar disorder is a serious psychiatric condition characterized by manic or hypomanic episodes, with interposed depressive episodes constituting the most common clinical presentation. These depressive episodes tend to last longer, recur more often, and are associated with a worse prognosis than manic/hypomanic episodes. Bipolar disorder affects approximately 5.7 million adult Americans, or about 2.6% of the U.S. population age 18 and older every year according to the National Institute of Mental Health. Bipolar depression, the predominant presentation of bipolar disorder, remains a significantly underserved medical need, with only a few FDA-approved treatment options available.
About Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia is a disabling and chronic mental illness affecting over 1% of the world’s population. Schizophrenia is characterized by multiple symptoms during an acute phase of the disorder that can include so-called “positive” symptoms, such as hearing voices, disorganized thinking, grandiose beliefs and suspiciousness or paranoia. These symptoms can be accompanied by additional, harder-to-treat symptoms, such as social withdrawal and blunted emotional response and expression, collectively referred to as “negative” symptoms, difficulty concentrating or cognitive impairment, depression, and insomnia. Such residual symptoms often persist even after the acute positive symptoms subside, and contribute substantially to the social and employment disability associated with schizophrenia. Current antipsychotic medications provide some relief for the symptoms associated with the acute phase of the disorder, but they do not effectively treat the residual phase symptoms and psychosocial impairment associated with chronic schizophrenia. Currently available medications used to treat acute schizophrenia are limited in their use due to side effects that can include movement disorders, weight gain, metabolic disturbances, and cardiovascular disorders. There is an unmet medical need for new therapies that have improved side effect and efficacy profiles.
About Intra-Cellular Therapies
Intra-Cellular Therapies is developing novel drugs for the treatment of neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases and diseases of the elderly, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. The Company is developing its lead drug candidate, ITI-007, for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, behavioral disturbances in dementia, depression and other neuropsychiatric and neurological disorders. ITI-007, a first-in-class molecule, is in Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar depression. The Company is also utilizing its phosphodiesterase platform and other proprietary chemistry platforms to develop drugs for the treatment of CNS and other disorders.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from historical results or from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding, among other things, our clinical and non-clinical development plans; the progress, timing and results of our clinical trials; the safety and efficacy of our product development candidates; our beliefs about the potential uses and benefits of ITI-007; and our research and development efforts and plans under the caption “About Intra-Cellular Therapies.” All such forward-looking statements are based on management’s present expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, outcome of events, timing and performance to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. These risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the following: our current and planned clinical trials, other studies for ITI-007, and our other product candidates may not be successful or may take longer and be more costly than anticipated; product candidates that appeared promising in earlier research and clinical trials may not demonstrate safety and/or efficacy in larger-scale or later clinical trials; our reliance on collaborative partners and other third parties for development of our product candidates; and the other risk factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time in our periodic and current reports filed with the SEC. All statements contained in this press release are made only as of the date of this press release, and we do not intend to update this information unless required by law.
Intra-Cellular Therapies, Inc. Juan Sanchez, M.D. Vice President, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations 646-440-9333 Burns McClellan, Inc. Lisa Burns Justin Jackson (Media) jjackson@burnsmc.com 212-213-0006
