Definium says LSD-based pill reduces anxiety in late-stage study

Definium Therapeutics said on Wednesday its LSD-based experimental pill significantly reduced anxiety symptoms in a late-stage study, meeting the trial's main goal and sending the drug developer's shares up more than 20% premarket.

The 214-patient trial tested a single 100-microgram dose of DT120, a fast-dissolving tablet of lysergide, the chemical name for LSD, in adults with generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD.

Patients on the drug had an 11.6-point drop on a standard anxiety rating scale at week 12, compared with a 6.2-point drop for those on a placebo.

The placebo-adjusted difference of 5.4 points was statistically significant and clinically meaningful, the company said.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Brian Abrahams said the data exceeded Wall Street's expectations and the efficacy seen with other therapies for the disease.