Axsome Therapeutics sleep disorder therapy succeeds in late-stage trial

(Reuters) – Axsome Therapeutics said on Monday its therapy for a sleep disorder met the main goal of a late-stage study.

The therapy AXS-12 reduced cataplexy attacks by 83% versus 56% for a placebo in a study with 90 patients of narcolepsy with cataplexy, meeting the trial goal.

Cataplexy is characterized by transient episodes of voluntary muscle weakness caused by intense emotion.

Narcolepsy is a chronic neurological disorder that affects the brain’s ability to control sleep-wake cycles. According to U.S. government data around 70% of patients with narcolepsy also have cataplexy.

(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Shailesh Kuber)