AbbVie shares fall after schizophrenia drug disappoints

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AbbVie shares plunged more than 10 percent on Monday, shedding more than $30 billion from the drugmaker’s market value after the company said a schizophrenia drug failed in clinical trials.

The Chicago-based drugmaker said its schizophrenia drug emraclidine did not show a “statistically significant reduction” in psychotic symptoms compared to a group that took a placebo. The Phase 2 trial tested the drug on 752 patients, AbbVie added.

The results are a blow to AbbVie, which spent $8.7 billion last year to buy biotech Cerevel Therapeutics to secure control of Emraclidine.

Roopal Thakkar, Abbvie’s chief scientific officer, said the company was “disappointed with the results,” adding that it would continue to analyze the data to determine next steps.

AbbVie shares fell 11 percent in early New York trading, reducing the group’s market capitalization to about $315 billion.

This is a developing story