Schizophrenia drug AbbVie scores $9 billion acquisition, fails in key trials

AbbVie said Monday that its experimental treatment for schizophrenia did not significantly help patients in two trials, a blow to the company that got the drug through its recent $9 billion acquisition of Cerevel Therapeutics.

In phase 2 trials, patients who received different doses of the drug called emraclidine showed no significant improvements on a test called the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) compared to the placebo group.

“While we are disappointed with the results, we continue to analyze the data to determine next steps,” AbbVie chief scientific officer Roopal Thakkar said in a statement.