aibioNeumora to cut workforce about 35% and end navacaprant after Phase 3 studies miss endpoints
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Neumora Therapeutics is ending development of navacaprant after its two Phase 3 KOASTAL trials in major depressive disorder missed statistical significance. It cut about 35% of its workforce and amended a loan with K2 HealthVentures, and it says its cash will last into the third quarter of 2027.
Key facts
- Company
- Neumora Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: NMRA)
- News type
- Distress
- Primary source
- Neumora Therapeutics, Inc. Form 8-K filed June 15, 2026 (SEC EDGAR)
Neumora Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: NMRA) said on June 15, 2026 that its two Phase 3 KOASTAL studies of navacaprant in major depressive disorder did not achieve statistical significance on the primary or key secondary endpoints, and that it is discontinuing development of the drug. The company disclosed the results, a workforce cut and a loan amendment in a Form 8-K filed June 15, 2026.
The trial results
KOASTAL-2 and KOASTAL-3 enrolled 430 and 422 adults with major depressive disorder. The primary endpoint in both was change from baseline to week 6 on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale.
In KOASTAL-2, patients on navacaprant 80 mg (n = 217) changed by -12.2, against -12.0 for placebo (n = 213), with a p-value of 0.813. In KOASTAL-3, navacaprant patients (n = 212) changed by -10.1 against -10.8 for placebo (n = 210), a smaller improvement than placebo, with a p-value of 0.480. In a pre-specified analysis of 426 patients enrolled after study optimizations in early 2025, the figures were -12.1 for navacaprant (n = 216) and -12.1 for placebo (n = 210), with a p-value of 0.976.
Neumora says navacaprant was safe and generally well tolerated, but the 8-K and the release give no safety figures. They give mean differences and p-values without confidence intervals. Bill Aurora, Pharm.D., chief operating and development officer, said the company was "disappointed with the results." Chairman and chief executive officer Paul L. Berns said the company remains excited about its pipeline.
Workforce cut and runway
On June 12, 2026, Neumora carried out a reduction in force of about 35%, to be completed in the second and third quarters of 2026. The company puts annualized savings at about $10 million, partly offset by one-time restructuring costs of about $2 million in the second quarter.
Neumora says its current cash and cash equivalents will fund operations into the third quarter of 2027. The 8-K gives no cash balance, so the runway claim cannot be checked against one. The burn can be checked. For 2025 the company reported a net loss of $236.9 million and used $206.4 million in operations, against a net loss of $243.8 million and $182.9 million used in 2024. At the end of 2024 it held cash and cash equivalents of $142.1 million and short-term investments of $165.4 million.
Loan amendment with K2 HealthVentures
On June 10, 2026, Neumora signed a Third Amendment to its Loan and Security Agreement with K2 HealthVentures LLC, a lender that is also administrative agent for the lenders. The original agreement is dated May 9, 2025.
The Third Amendment extends the interest-only period. If the second tranche of term loans is not funded, the term loans are interest-only through maturity. If it is funded, Neumora pays interest only through April 2029, and then interest and principal from May 1, 2029.
The amendment also changes the minimum liquidity covenant, which takes effect on July 1, 2026. The required minimum depends on whether Neumora reaches specified operational milestones, on its market capitalization, or both. It will equal 50% of outstanding loan obligations, 110% of them, or be waived in full. The 8-K does not say which of the three will apply.
What remains in the pipeline
Neumora lists three near-term programs. NMRA-511, a V1a receptor antagonist for agitation in Alzheimer's disease, is to finish a multiple ascending dose cohort in healthy elderly volunteers in the fourth quarter of 2026. Its data will inform dose selection for a Phase 2b study planned by the end of 2026. NMRA-898, an M4 positive allosteric modulator for schizophrenia, is due to report Phase 1 data in the second half of 2026. NMRA-215, an NLRP3 inhibitor for obesity, is to finish a repeat 13-week rat toxicology study in mid-2026 and start clinical studies by year end.
The 8-K gives no efficacy data for any of those programs, and the NMRA-511 cohort is in healthy volunteers, not patients.
What the 8-K leaves out
The 8-K does not say how the company will spend its remaining cash after the cut, or whether further reductions are planned. It does not say which minimum liquidity level will apply under the loan or how much has been borrowed.