Synaptic drops on migraine drug delay

Synaptic shares fell by nearly a quarter after Eli Lilly decided todelay Phase III testing of a migraine drug on which the two firms had been collaborating. Rather than press ahead with the studies (which were due to start this month), Lilly has said it plans to do more research into the safety and tolerability of the compound, called LY334370, which is the first in a new class of selective 5-HT1F agonist antimigraine drugs. The announcement has led some analysts to suggest that all may not be well with the project.

If this is the case, it would be serious news for Synaptic, said David Batter of Mehta Partners, who suggested that trials are not delayed at this stage unless some problem has emerged. The drug is important for both companies, he noted, although clearly Synaptic would be most affected if it stumbled. However, Richard van den Broek of Hambrecht & Quist suggested that Lilly may be planning more extensive testing to support a claim that it has fewer side effects than its competitors. Data from three Phase II trials have suggested that the drug is efficacious in migraine without the cardiovascular side effects associated with other migraine drugs.