Tortugas Neuroscience's obuprazine shows significant improvement in phase 2b schizophrenia trial in China

Tortugas Neuroscience, a biotech founded by former Sage Therapeutics staff with $106 million in funding, reported positive data from a phase 2b study of its schizophrenia candidate obuprazine, licensed from Hansoh Pharma.

The trial enrolled 363 Chinese adults who had been hospitalized for acute schizophrenia within two months before screening. Participants received one of three dose ranges of obuprazine (1.5-3 mg, 4.5-6 mg, 6-9 mg), the standard antipsychotic aripiprazole, or placebo.

All obuprazine dose groups achieved statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) total score versus placebo at Day 42, meeting the study's primary endpoint. The 1.5-3 mg cohort showed the largest placebo-adjusted improvement, a 16.7-point drop in PANSS score.

The results support Tortugas's neurology strategy and suggest that obuprazine could become a new treatment option for acute schizophrenia, pending further development.