Opiant’s Mid-Stage Treatment for a Severe Eating Disorder Fails to Reach Endpoints

Shares of Opiant Pharmaceuticals fell in trading Thursday and continue to slide in premarket trading this morning after the company announced its Phase II trial evaluating a naloxone nasal spray for the treatment of bulimia nervosa failed to meet primary endpoints and will discontinue the program. Santa Monica, Calif.-based Opiant, the maker of the heroin-overdose drug Narcan, said its asset OPNT001 did not reduce the number of binging days from baseline to week eight in the mid-stage study. Key secondary efficacy endpoints were also not met, the company said. Bulimia nervosa (BN) is a serious and potentially life-threatening eating disorder that primarily affects women. The disorder is characterized by binge eating followed by purging, fasting, and other strategies to prevent weight gain. BN patients are at a heightened risk of other psychiatric disorders including depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. Currently, there is only one treatment approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for BN, fluoxetine, which is the anti-depressant Prozac.