After two years and multiple unsuccessful trials, Neurocrine Biosciences and Swiss biotech Idorsia have officially ended their collaboration on NBI-827104, a calcium channel blocker initially aimed at treating epilepsy. The partnership, which began with high hopes in 2019, faced a rocky path after the drug candidate failed to meet key benchmarks in two phase 2 trials.
Idorsia initially developed NBI-827104, banking on its ability to penetrate the brain and block calcium channels thought to play a role in epilepsy. In 2019, Neurocrine joined the effort, paying an initial $5 million to collaborate, followed by a $45 million investment to advance the program further.
However, the promise of the drug began to fade after NBI-827104 missed its primary endpoint in a phase 2 trial for essential tremor, prompting Neurocrine to discontinue its tremor program. Later, in 2022, additional disappointment followed as the drug failed to outperform a placebo in another phase 2 trial targeting pediatric epileptic encephalopathy with continuous spike-and-wave during sleep—a severe epilepsy condition in children.
At the time, Neurocrine’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Eiry Roberts, expressed that the team would closely analyze the data to assess the potential future of the program. But the latest announcement in Idorsia’s third-quarter earnings call has confirmed that the companies, after further evaluation of open-label extension data, have decided to terminate any further development of NBI-827104, also known as ACT-709478.
“With this decision, the development agreement has officially come to an end,” Idorsia shared in its statement. The conclusion of this collaboration underscores the high stakes and challenges in developing breakthrough therapies in the field of neurology.
