Investors anxious to see data from Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s phase III Raise study testing intravenous ganaxolone in refractory status epilepticus (RSE) will have to wait a little longer, as the trial failed to meet the predefined criteria for stopping at the interim analysis, sending shares (NASDAQ:MRNS) down nearly 83%.
Tenacia Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has acquired exclusive greater China rights to certain formulations of Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s seizure therapy, ganaxolone (Ztalmy), in a deal worth up to $266 million. Under the terms, Shanghai-based Tenacia now has the rights to develop and commercialize current oral and intravenous dose formulations of ganaxolone in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. It also gained the right to the first negotiation for a new formulation of the drug in the future.
Tenacia Biotechnology Co. Ltd. has acquired exclusive greater China rights to certain formulations of Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc.’s seizure therapy, ganaxolone (Ztalmy), in a deal worth up to $266 million.
With new therapeutics under FDA review for migraine, Alzheimer’s disease and seizures, and several rare disease gene therapies in development, stocks included in BioWorld’s Neurological Diseases Index are tracking 6.09% ahead for the year.
Shares of Marinus Pharmaceuticals Inc. climbed 51.7% to close at $3.20 on Sept. 15 following news that the company's sole clinical asset, ganaxolone, met the primary endpoint of its phase III Marigold study in CDKL5 deficiency disorder, a rare genetic condition that can leave children unable to walk, talk or feed themselves.
Investors continue to keep a close eye on the progress of companies involved in developing medicines targeting the central nervous system and, in the main, their reaction has been generally positive. The BioWorld Neurological Diseases index, a price-weighted index of public biopharmaceutical companies that are focused on developing therapies to treat neurological diseases, closed the year up over 16% and after, a dip in January, is now tracking up more than 12% by market close on Friday Feb. 21, well ahead of the general markets for the same period.