BioXcel Therapeutics Announces Extension of FDA Review Period of its NDA for BXCL501 for the Acute Treatment of Agitation Associated With Schizophrenia & Bipolar Disorders

BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. recently announced the US FDA has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date for its review of the New Drug Application (NDA) of BXCL501 for the acute treatment of agitation associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders I and II.

In connection with the FDA’s ongoing review, BioXcel Therapeutics responded to the agency’s information request pertaining to analyses of clinical data, and was recently informed the application would require additional time for review. As a result, the FDA extended the previously disclosed PDUFA date of January 5, 2022 to April 5, 2022. BioXcel Therapeutics and the FDA met on November 30. No additional data has been requested.

“Following our meeting with the FDA, we remain committed to working closely with the agency to facilitate a review of our NDA for BXCL501 and excited about making this potential therapy available to patients and caregivers as soon as possible,” said Vimal Mehta, PhD, CEO of BioXcel Therapeutics. “As we prepare for anticipated FDA approval, we are confident in BXCL501’s broad potential to treat the millions of patients suffering from agitation associated with schizophrenia and bipolar disorders.”

BXCL501 is an investigational, proprietary, orally dissolving thin film formulation of dexmedetomidine, a selective alpha-2a receptor agonist for the treatment of agitation associated with neuropsychiatric disorders. BioXcel believes that BXCL501 potentially targets a causal agitation mechanism, and the company has observed anti-agitation results in multiple clinical studies across several neuropsychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia related agitation (SERENITY I), bipolar disorder related agitation (SERENITY II) and dementia related agitation (TRANQUILITY). BXCL501 has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for the acute treatment of agitation associated with dementia and Fast Track designation for the acute treatment of agitation associated with schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and dementia. The safety and efficacy of BXCL501 has not been established.

Agitation is a common and difficult to manage symptom associated with multiple neuropsychiatric conditions, including schizophrenia and bipolar disorders I and II. These two disease states alone have an estimated US prevalence of approximately 9 million adults with more than 3 million experiencing agitation each year. On average, patients with these conditions experience more than a dozen episodes per year, the majority requiring pharmacologic treatment. Early identification and prompt intervention to relieve agitation are essential to avoid symptomatic escalation and the emergence of aggression. Expert consensus best-practice guidelines have recommended that agitation should be treated by a combination of behavioral calming techniques, verbal de-escalation, and medications that are voluntarily accepted by patients without coercion, with the pharmacologic goal of “calming without excessive sedation.” A non-invasive therapy that causes rapid and sustained symptom relief may be helpful to avoid the costly and traumatic use of coercive techniques, like physical restraint and seclusion, which may result in admission and prolonged hospitalization.

BioXcel Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company utilizing artificial intelligence approaches to develop transformative medicines in neuroscience and immuno-oncology. BioXcel’s drug re-innovation approach leverages existing approved drugs and/or clinically validated product candidates together with big data and proprietary machine learning algorithms to identify new therapeutic indices. BioXcel Therapeutics’ two most advanced clinical development programs are BXCL501, an investigational, proprietary, orally dissolving thin film formulation of dexmedetomidine for the treatment of agitation associated with psychiatric and neurological disorders, and BXCL701, an investigational, orally administered, systemic innate immunity activator in development for the treatment of aggressive forms of prostate cancer and advanced solid tumors that are refractory or treatment naïve to checkpoint inhibitors. For more information, visit www.bioxceltherapeutics.com.