Targacept Announces Negative Top-Line Results from Phase 2b Trial of TC-5619 in Schizophrenia

Targacept, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRGT), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical companydeveloping novel NNR Therapeutics ™, today announced top-line results from aPhase 2b clinical trial of TC-5619 as an augmentation therapy for thetreatment of negative symptoms of schizophrenia. In the trial, TC-5619 did notmeet the primary outcome measure, change from baseline on the Scale for theAssessment of Negative Symptoms (SANS) after 24 weeks versus placebo. Inaddition, TC-5619 did not demonstrate improvement on the key secondarymeasures of cognitive function. TC-5619 exhibited a benign safety andtolerability profile in the study.“The development of new and innovative treatments for patients suffering fromcentral nervous system disorders is challenging, and the results of this studyhighlight the risks inherent in trying to address the unmet medical needs thatremain in schizophrenia,” said Dr. Stephen A. Hill, Targacept's President andChief Executive Officer. “While the results are disappointing, we believe thestudy was well conducted and provides a robust dataset upon which we havebased our decision to not pursue further development of TC-5619 as a treatmentfor either schizophrenia or Alzheimer's disease. We will focus our efforts onour other ongoing Phase 2b programs, TC-5214 for overactive bladder andTC-1734 for Alzheimer's disease, continue forward with the planned developmentof TC-6499 for diabetic gastroparesis, and maintain our disciplined approachto executing our business plan which seeks to provide new medicines to improvepatients' lives.”