Axsome jumps as FDA grants priority review for Alzheimer’s agitation drug

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.

AXS-05 is a novel, oral combination of dextromethorphan and bupropion.

It is already marketed under the brand name Auvelity for the treatment of major depressive disorder.

If approved for this new indication, AXS-05 would enter a market currently dominated by Otsuka and Lundbeck’s Rexulti (brexpiprazole), the first and only drug currently approved for Alzheimer’s agitation.

Analysts suggest that AXS-05’s unique mechanism—targeting NMDA receptors and sigma-1 receptors rather than dopamine—could make it a preferred choice for physicians concerned about the side effects of traditional antipsychotics.