Neurocrine Bio Stumbles on Tourette Study Results

Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. (NASDAQ: NBIX) shares dipped on Wednesday after the company announced that its midstage Tourette syndrome study did not live up to expectations.

Specifically, the firm announced topline data from its Phase 2b T-Force GOLD study demonstrating that valbenazine did not meet the primary endpoint as assessed by the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) in children and adolescents with moderate to severe Tourette syndrome.

The primary endpoint of T-Force GOLD was the change from baseline of the YGTSS Total Tic Score at week 12. The YGTSS is designed to rate the overall severity of motor and phonic tic symptoms across a range of dimensions: number, frequency, intensity, complexity and interference.

Separately, the types of treatment emergent adverse events observed in this trial were consistent with those seen in other valbenazine studies.

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Kevin Gorman, Ph.D., CEO at Neurocrine Biosciences, commented:

We are very disappointed with the topline data from the T-Force GOLD study given that children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome need better treatment options. This study was well-conducted with a placebo response as expected, but the treatment effect of valbenazine was lower than we had anticipated. We would like to thank the patients, caregivers and investigators for their participation in this study. We will further analyze the data to determine the next steps for valbenazine in Tourette syndrome.

Shares of Neurocrine Bio were last seen down about 22% at $66.81, in a 52-week range of $64.72 to $126.98. The consensus analyst price target is $130.27.

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