Seelos Therapeutics Announces Receipt Of Minutes From Its End Of Phase II Meeting With The U.S. FDA Highlighting Modifications To The Primary And Secondary Endpoints Of Its Phase II Study Of SLS-002

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | January 22, 2024 09:01am

• Company plans to continue its previously announced potential partnership discussions and expects to proceed to Phase III with SLS-002 in Adults with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) at Imminent Risk of Suicide

NEW YORK, Jan. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Seelos Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEEL) ("Seelos"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of therapies for central nervous system disorders and rare diseases, today announced the receipt of minutes from its End of Phase II Meeting with the FDA. 

In the meeting minutes, the FDA agreed that the primary endpoint in a Phase III trial could be the change from baseline in the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS) total score at Day 16, rather than the 24-hour timepoint that was selected in the Phase II SLS-002-201 study. The key secondary endpoint could be the change from baseline at 24 hours on the suicidality scale. This agreement with the FDA gives Seelos further confidence for its Phase III development of SLS-002 as data in the Phase II study showed clinically significant treatment differences from placebo on both the Day 16 MADRS (p-value: 0.012) and the 24-hour Sheehan- Suicidality Tracking Scale (S-STS) (p-value: 0.008).

"We are very excited about the potential that SLS-002 has to address the unmet need of acute suicidality. We are working to design one robust Phase III trial that has the potential to demonstrate a statistically persuasive effect utilizing agreed FDA endpoints," said Raj Mehra, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Seelos.

"We want to thank the FDA for this collaborative discussion and look forward to future discussions on the modifications for the Phase III protocol that align with what SLS-002 previously demonstrated in the Phase II study," said Tim Whitaker, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Seelos. "We also want to again thank all of the study participants and study sites who helped us gather important data in the Phase II study. This will help us refine the potential Phase III study. We also look forward to participating in the U.S. Department of Defense's (DOD) adaptive platform trial to evaluate treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)."

In 2022 there were 49,449 suicides in the U.S. and unfortunately, the medical community still lacks an FDA-approved therapeutic to treat the symptoms of suicidality. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2020, suicides and non-fatal self-harm cost the U.S. over $500 billion in medical and work-loss costs, value of statistical life, and quality of life costs. Suicidal patients who present suicidal ideation and behavior symptoms at an emergency department can be held in the emergency department for several days while awaiting an inpatient psychiatric bed.

If you or a loved one are having thoughts of suicide, please seek immediate medical help, go to your nearest emergency room, or call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988 or 1-800-273-8255 (TALK).

About SLS-002

SLS-002 is intranasal racemic ketamine with two investigational new drug applications for the treatment of Acute Suicidal Ideation and Behavior in Major Depressive Disorder and in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. SLS-002 was originally derived from a Javelin Pharmaceuticals, Inc./Hospira, Inc. program with 16 clinical studies involving approximately 500 subjects. Seelos looks to address an unmet need for a therapy to treat suicidality in the U.S. with SLS-002. Traditionally, anti-depressants have been used in this setting but many of the existing treatments are known to contribute to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts in some circumstances, and if they are effective, it often takes weeks for the full therapeutic effect to be manifested. Based on information gathered from the databases of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, there were more than 1,000,000 visits to emergency rooms for suicide attempts in 2019 in the U.S. alone. Experimental studies suggest ketamine has the potential to be a rapid, effective treatment for refractory depression and suicidality.

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