Memory Pharma Earns Bipolar Milestone

Memory Pharmaceuticals Corp. earned a milestone payment of $960,000 from the Stanley Medical Research Institute (SMRI) based on progress of an ongoing Phase IIa trial of MEM 1003 in patients with acute mania in bipolar disorder.

“We are pleased to have earned our first milestone payment from SMRI, and we are particularly pleased by enrollment in this trial to date,” said Stephen R. Murray, M.D., Ph.D., vice president of clinical development. “We have increased the number of subjects in the trial from 60 to 80 to improve the power of the trial to detect the effect of MEM 1003 on the mood swings characterized by this disorder. We continue to look forward to completing this trial in the near future.”

The multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study is evaluating the safety and efficacy of MEM 1003 for the treatment of acute mania in bipolar disorder. Subjects are being randomized to receive MEM 1003 or placebo for a 21-day treatment period, which will be followed by an optional open-label four-week treatment period. The primary outcome measure of the trial is the change in the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) at 21 days.

Under the terms of the agreement, Memory could receive as much as $3.2 million from SMRI to fund its Phase IIa trial of MEM 1003 in bipolar disorder. Memory is eligible to receive as much as an additional $1.3 million of funding from SMRI upon the achievement of further milestones related to this trial. All of the milestone payments will be repayable to SMRI in the form of royalties on any future sales of MEM 1003 for the treatment of bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.