atai Life Sciences (NASDAQ: ATAI), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies for neuropsychiatric diseases and its subsidiary, Perception Neuroscience (“Perception”), today announced the completion of enrollment of its Phase 2a clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a single intravenous infusion (IV) dose of PCN-101 (R-ketamine). R-ketamine is a stereoisomer of ketamine being developed for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). TRD patients are partially or entirely unresponsive to antidepressants and face issues of misdiagnosis, prolonged depressive periods, co-occurring mental and physical disorders, and longer periods with a lower quality of life than patients suffering from less severe depression.
The Phase 2a proof-of-concept trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with an enrollment target of 93 TRD patients across three arms. The last patient is expected to be dosed this week, with the total number of patients expected to be around 100. These patients – all of whom had previously failed at least two rounds of antidepressants – received either a single dose of placebo, 30 mg, or 60 mg of PCN-101 via IV in addition to their existing treatment regimen. Patients were assessed for a change in depressive symptomatology using the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) at intervals over 14 days, with the primary endpoint at 24 hours post-dose. Dissociation and sedation were measured using the Clinician-Administered Dissociative States Scale (CADSS) and the Modified Observer’s Alertness/Sedation Scale (MOAA/S), respectively.
“This is a critical study and the first to assess the efficacy, tolerability, and duration of action of PCN-101 in a double-blind manner. We look forward to sharing the topline results around year-end,” said Maju Mathews, MD, Chief Medical Officer of Perception. “We are working diligently to initiate our next study comparing the intravenous to the subcutaneous formulation.”
“I am very proud of the Perception team and our partners for reaching this critical milestone in our program to explore the potential of PCN-101 for people living with TRD. In addition, I am grateful to the patients who took the time and effort to participate in the study,” said Terence Kelly, Ph.D., CEO of Perception Neuroscience. “An estimated 100 million people worldwide live with TRD. These patients are more likely than those with milder depression to experience serious complications, ranging from physical comorbidities to suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. PCN-101 has the potential to offer those with TRD a rapid-acting antidepressant that can be administered in the home.”
“Completing enrollment of this Phase 2a trial is an important achievement and represents a major step towards potentially delivering a novel care option for mental health patients with unsupervised, at-home administration. Changing the treatment landscape for TRD may not only alleviate the suffering of the 100 million people living with TRD around the globe, but also decrease overall healthcare utilization, bringing us closer to realizing our vision of healing mental health disorders so that everyone, everywhere can live a more fulfilled life.”
Florian Brand, Co-Founder, and CEO of atai Life Sciences.
atai will be hosting a virtual R&D Day today, October 25, at 12 pm ET, during which it will discuss the PCN-101 program and contextualize the upcoming Phase 2a readout, among other topics. Click here or visit our website for more information: https://ir.atai.life/news-events/events.
About PCN-101
Perception Neuroscience is developing PCN-101 (R-ketamine) for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression. PCN-101 is a single isomer of ketamine and belongs to a new generation of glutamate receptor modulators with the potential for rapid-acting antidepressant (RAAD) activity and anti-suicidal effects. Pharmacologically, PCN-101 is a non-competitive N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist. Nonclinical depression model studies in rodents suggest that R-ketamine could possess more durable and potent effects than S-ketamine despite a lower affinity to the NMDA receptor and potentially a more favorable safety and tolerability profile.
About Perception Neuroscience, Inc
Perception Neuroscience is a New York City-based clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to developing therapies for neuropsychiatric diseases. Perception’s mission is to provide more effective treatment solutions for serious psychiatric disorders. The company is a majority-owned subsidiary of atai Life Sciences.
About atai Life Sciences
atai Life Sciences is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company aiming to transform the treatment of mental health disorders. Founded in 2018 as a response to the significant unmet need and lack of innovation in the mental health treatment landscape, atai is dedicated to acquiring, incubating, and efficiently developing innovative therapeutics to treat depression, anxiety, addiction, and other mental health disorders.
By pooling resources and best practices, atai aims to responsibly accelerate the development of new medicines across its companies to achieve clinically meaningful and sustained behavioral change in mental health patients.
atai’s vision is to heal mental health disorders so that everyone, everywhere can live a more fulfilled life.