Intra-Cellular Therapies Surges 20% On Depression Test Results

Intra-Cellular Therapies ( ITCI ) witnessed a sharp increase in its stock value, as it surged by 25% on Tuesday, following the success of its drug Caplyta in a depression treatment study. The drug has already been approved for the treatment of schizophrenia and depressive episodes in bipolar disorder patients, and the recent study has indicated its potential to treat major depressive disorder.

The study was conducted over a period of six weeks and involved a 60-point scale to measure depression symptoms, where patients who were administered Caplyta showed a 4.9-point reduction in comparison to the placebo group. The results were statistically significant and have prompted Intra-Cellular Therapies to wait for the results of a second Phase 3 study, Study 501, expected in the second half of the year.

Graig Suvannavejh, an analyst at Mizuho Securities, noted that the results of Study 501 have exceeded expectations. In a report, he stated that the management had previously set expectations of a potential 2- to 4-point placebo-adjusted improvement on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. He also mentioned that other antipsychotics approved for depression treatments had led to improvements ranging from 0.9 to 3.2 points on the same scale.

In premarket trading on the stock market, Intra-Cellular Therapies' stock value surged by 25% to 80.86 The stock is currently consolidating with a buy point at 76.11 and is poised to break out at the open. Further accentuating the bullish thesis of the stock is the Relative Strength Index (RSI) which lies at 72.