Neurocrine shares rise on elagolix trial results

Shares of Neurocrine Biosciences Inc. rose Wednesday after the company said its drug candidate elagolix met all its goals in a mid-stage safety trial, causing little bone density loss and reducing pain from endometriosis.

The San Diego company said patients who took elagolix for six months experienced minimal bone mineral loss. They also reported reduced pain from endometriosis, pelvic pain during menstruation and non-menstrual pelvic pain. Elagolix was safe and well-tolerated, and the most common side effect in all groups was a headache.

Endometriosis is a condition where tissue from the lining of the uterus grows outside the uterus, forming painful cysts on the ovaries, fallopian tubes and abdominal cavity.

In the study, patients were given a 150 milligram oral dose of elagolix once per day or 75 milligrams twice per day, or Pfizer Inc.'s injectable contraceptive Depo-Provera. The patients who took the larger dose once per day averaged a loss in density of 0.11 percent in the spine and 0.47 percent in the femur. Those who took twice per day had an average loss of 1.3 percent for the spine and 0.99 percent for the femur.

Based on the results, Neurocrine said it will continue with testing the 150 milligram dose of elagolix. In both elagolix groups, the reduction in pain was similar to the results for the patients who took Depo-Provera.

Neurocrine shares advanced 57 cents, or 11 percent, to $5.81.

Thomas Weisel Partners analyst M. Ian Somaiya said the market for endometriosis treatments may be larger than the market for another drug the company is developing, the insomnia candidate Indiplon IR.

"We are encouraged by these results and believe that this data could provide a much needed new lease on life for Neurocrine, as this indication is potentially larger then the Indiplon insomnia opportunity and could lead to a partnership next year," he said.