Roche and Evotec terminate Ph II study with NR2B in treatment-resistant depression

20 May 2011

German biotech firm Evotec AG (Xetra: EVT) and Swiss drug major Roche (SIX: ROG) say they have decided to voluntarily terminate the first proof-of-concept study in treatment-resistant depression with their NR2B sub-type selective NMDA antagonist EVT 101. Evotec’s shares plunged nearly 10% to 2.71 euros on the news Wednesday.

Just over two years ago, Roche and Evotec signed a potential $300 million deal to develop EVT 101, a drug being tested for treatment-resistant depression (The Pharma Letter March 16, 2009). EVT-101 was discovered by Roche and developed by the German small-molecule drugmaker from discovery to the clinic.

Study recruitment difficulties

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