Strike two for Lilly's novel schizophrenia drug
This article was originally published in Scrip
Executive Summary
The large Phase II study (HBBM) on its pipeline schizophrenia drug LY2140023 has yielded the worst possible outcome for Eli Lilly. The Lilly drug trial could not be separated from placebo at either one of two doses, and therefore missed its primary efficacy endpoint. Not only that, the active comparator in the trial, risperidone, a generic drug since 2003, did demonstrate efficacy at a statistically significant level. The latest failure - coupled with LY2140023's already uncertain efficacy profile - casts serious uncertainty over whether the drug will reach the market.