Axsome Therapeutics (NASDAQ:AXSM) shares edged higher Wednesday after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Priority Review to its supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) for AXS-05, a treatment targeting the pervasive and distressing agitation associated with Alzheimer’s disease.
The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date of April 30, 2026.
The Priority Review designation—reserved for drugs that offer significant improvements over existing therapies—shortens the standard 10-month review cycle to just six months.
The filing is supported by data from a sprawling clinical program including four Phase 3 trials, most notably the ACCORD study, which showed that AXS-05 reduced the risk of agitation relapse by 3.6-fold compared to a placebo.
Agitation, characterized by emotional distress, aggression, and restlessness, affects up to 76% of the roughly 7 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s.
Despite its prevalence, the condition remains one of the most significant unmet needs in geriatric care.
Until recently, clinicians relied heavily on off-label antipsychotics, which carry "Black Box" warnings for increased mortality in elderly patients with dementia.