Phase 2 Trial Results for Novel Treatment of Adults with Schizophrenia

Dr. Stephen Brannan, Chief Medical Officer at Karuna Therapeutics discusses positive data recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine from their Phase 2 EMERGENT-1 clinical trial evaluating KarXT in adults with schizophrenia. The publication builds on previously reported Phase 2 trial results in which KarXT demonstrated clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in treating the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Dr. Brannan talks about how Karuna is taking a new approach to treating schizophrenia, the disease burden of schizophrenia and the unmet need among patients for a differentiated treatment option that is safe and minimizes side effects.

Dr. Brannan is a neuroscience drug development expert who has held senior positions overseeing both clinical development and medical affairs with more than 15 years of industry experience. Previously, Dr. Brannan was the Therapeutic Head of Neuroscience at Takeda and Vice President for Clinical Research and Medical Affairs at Forum Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Brannan has been active in the development of multiple important central nervous system treatments including Cymbalta®, Exelon Patch®, Trintellix®, and Vagal Nerve Stimulation for Treatment Resistant Depression while holding various senior roles at Forum, Takeda, Novartis, Cyberonics, and Eli Lilly. His experience includes drug development, registration, medical affairs, launch, and lifecycle management across psychiatry and neurology programs. Dr. Brannan is a member of several scientific societies and groups, including ACNP, ISCTM (member of the Executive and Scientific Program Committees), ISCDD, AARR, IOM Neuroforum, and CNS Summit (founding member and member of the Leadership Council).Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Brannan worked on the faculty at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHSCSA) where he specialized in seeing mood and anxiety disorder patients, ran a clinical research unit, and did neuroimaging research at the Research Imaging Center.Dr. Brannan trained in psychiatry at UTHSCSA and holds an M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Dallas (Southwestern Medical School). He has over 40 publications and routinely gives invited talks and presentations at industry conferences.