Aptinyx, a biotechnology company developing drugs for brain and nervous system disorders, is considering strategic options after receiving negative results from a key clinical trial.
The trial enrolled nearly 100 patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia caused by Parkinson’s disease or another brain disorder known as Lewy body dementia. Patients then received either a placebo or Aptinyx’s drug, named NYX-458, for 12 weeks. Results showed the drug, though well-tolerated, was no more effective at improving everyday function and cognition.
To Aptinyx, the outcome does not support further development of NYX-458. The Evanston, Illinois-based company now plans to undergo cost-cutting measures, including the termination of a mid-stage study evaluating its other main drug, NYX-783, as a treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. CEO Andy Kidd said the biotech will focus on “maximizing the value of our assets” and “exploring strategic alternatives to support the advancement of [Aptinyx’s] platform.”
According to its most recent earnings report, Aptinyx had $76 million worth of assets, mostly cash and cash equivalents, as of Sept. 30. Over the first nine months of 2022, the company recorded a $51 million loss from operations.
Aptinyx shares lost more than two-thirds of their value Tuesday morning, to trade around 20 cents apiece.
The company’s chemistry platform is meant to regulate a group of cell-signaling proteins called NMDA receptors, which research indicates are vital to brain function and memory. Aptinyx went public in 2018, pricing shares at $16 apiece and raising $102 million in the process. But its stock has been suppressed since early 2019, when one of its previous experimental medicines generated negative data in a study looking at a type of pain associated with diabetes.
Though Aptinyx’s didn’t detail the specific strategic options it’s weighing, often these processes results in a sale or merger.
With Tuesday’s update, Aptinyx joins a lengthy list of biotechs currently exploring strategic alternatives. Torreya, a boutique investment bank focused on the life sciences, counted at least 21 others as of late February.
The list includes Magenta Therapeutics and Graphite Bio, whose most advanced drug programs recently raised safety concerns, as well as Finch Therapeutics, which, amid a difficult biotech financing environment, has had trouble securing the funding necessary to keep its business going.