Anti-Cocaine Drug Fails in Trial

A medication designed to fight cocaine addiction failed to show positive results in mid-stage clinical trials, sending shares of drug-maker Catalyst Pharmaceutical Partners Inc. plunging, Reuters reported May 29.

Researchers said that the drug, CPP-109, yielded no better abstinence rates during the final two weeks of the study period than a placebo. The news touched off a 70-percent decline in Catalyst’s stock prices; CPP-109 is the company’s only current product.

Company officials said they were examining their options about further development of CPP-109 based on the trial results. The company also has stopped recruiting test subjects for an ongoing clinical trial of CPP-109 as a treatment for methamphetamine addiction. Instead, the firm will conduct a more limited “proof of concept” study on CPP-109 as a meth treatment.