Neumora Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:NMRA) shares rose 6.9% on Monday after the clinical-stage biotech reported positive findings from a Phase 1b trial of NMRA-511 in patients experiencing agitation linked to Alzheimer’s disease.
The oral vasopressin 1a receptor antagonist delivered a clinically meaningful benefit, producing a 15.7-point reduction in the average CMAI total score. The treatment was also well tolerated, with no cases of somnolence or sedation reported—an important differentiator given the side-effect profiles of existing therapies.
Across the full study population, NMRA-511 generated a modest effect size of between 0.20 and 0.23. Results were notably stronger in a pre-specified subgroup of patients with elevated anxiety, where the company said the drug achieved an “unsurpassed” clinical effect size ranging from 0.51 to 0.64, indicating potentially greater benefit for this segment.
“The results of treatment with NMRA-511 are particularly encouraging, as they demonstrated clinically meaningful effects in agitation symptoms among people with AD agitation, and even more profound results among those with elevated anxiety – representing a significant number of treated patients,” said Dr. Anton P. Porsteinsson of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
Looking ahead, Neumora plans to continue advancing the program with a multiple ascending dose extension study to test higher dose levels in 2026. The company is also working on formulation improvements aimed at enabling once-daily dosing.
In addition to the NMRA-511 update, Neumora outlined progress across its broader pipeline. The company expects a combined readout from its KOASTAL-2 and KOASTAL-3 trials of navacaprant in the second quarter of 2026 and plans to launch a clinical program for NMRA-215 in obesity in the first half of 2026.
Neumora said its current cash resources are projected to fund operations into the third quarter of 2027.