Alkermes plc develops and commercializes neuroscience medicines, with proprietary commercial products used in alcohol dependence, opioid dependence, schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and narcolepsy. Company news commonly covers quarterly financial results, full-year expectations, commercial execution and presentations at healthcare and CNS investor conferences.
Clinical and medical updates focus on the company’s sleep-wake and psychiatric portfolio, including LYBALVI in schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder and alixorexton, an investigational oral selective orexin 2 receptor agonist in development for narcolepsy and idiopathic hypersomnia. Other updates include peer-reviewed data publications, research award programs and corporate developments tied to Alkermes’ biopharmaceutical operations.
Alkermes (Nasdaq: ALKS) announced that management will participate in fireside chats at two upcoming healthcare investor conferences in November 2026.
The Stifel 2026 Healthcare Conference chat is scheduled for Nov. 10 at 10:40 a.m. ET. The Jefferies Global Healthcare Conference chat in London is scheduled for Nov. 18 at 11:30 a.m. ET. Live webcasts will be available through the company’s Investors tab and archived for 14 days.
Alkermes (Nasdaq: ALKS) reported financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2026, with details available online. The earnings release and presentation are available on its investor relations website. A conference call and webcast on November 3, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. ET will discuss the results and provide a company update; a replay will also be available on the website.
Alkermes (Nasdaq: ALKS) initiated a phase 2 study of ALKS 7290 as an add-on to antidepressants for adults with major depressive disorder.
The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study includes adults with and without excessive daytime sleepiness. Alkermes expects to enroll approximately 180 participants, who will receive ALKS 7290 or placebo alongside antidepressant therapy for six weeks. The primary objective is safety and tolerability. The secondary objective is improvement in depression severity versus placebo, measured by changes from baseline at week six on the Montgomery–Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and Clinical Global Impressions-Severity Scale.
ALKS 7290 is an investigational oral drug that activates the orexin 2 receptor. It has been evaluated in a phase 1 study in healthy volunteers and adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Alkermes (Nasdaq: ALKS) will host a conference call and webcast on November 3, 2026 to discuss third quarter financial results. The presentation begins at 8:00 a.m. ET (1:00 p.m. GMT). The webcast and accompanying slides will be available through the Investors section of the company’s website, with a replay available approximately two hours after the event ends.
Alkermes (ALKS) plans to present alixorexton and LUMRYZ research at Sleep Europe 2026, taking place Oct. 20–23 in Maastricht, the Netherlands. The program includes two oral presentations and six posters. Alixorexton presentations will cover the Vibrance-1 phase 2 study in adults with narcolepsy type 1 and extension data in narcolepsy types 1 and 2 after up to nine months of treatment.
Alkermes will also present detailed results from REVITALYZ, the phase 3 study of LUMRYZ in adults with idiopathic hypersomnia, for which it previously announced positive topline results. LUMRYZ joined its portfolio through the acquisition of Avadel Pharmaceuticals. Under a settlement and license agreement, Alkermes cannot market or provide specified commercial and patient support activities for LUMRYZ in idiopathic hypersomnia before March 1, 2028, even if FDA approval comes earlier.
Alkermes (ALKS) reported positive topline phase 1b proof-of-concept results for ALKS 7290, an oral orexin 2 receptor agonist in development for adults with ADHD.
The double-blind, placebo-controlled study enrolled 50 adults with ADHD and showed that ALKS 7290 was generally well tolerated over 14 days, with no serious treatment-emergent adverse events and no discontinuations among treated participants. In exploratory efficacy analyses, median AISRS total scores improved by 14.0 points at the 20 mg dose and 19.0 points at the 50 mg dose at day 14, from a baseline of about 39. Median CGI-S scores improved by 1.0 and 2.0 points, respectively, indicating a shift from markedly or moderately ill to mildly ill. EEG biomarkers and cognitive tests showed treatment effects across attention and working memory domains, supporting dose selection for an ongoing phase 2 trial now enrolling, with data expected in 2027.
Alkermes (ALKS) appointed Anne C. Whitaker as a new independent member of its Board of Directors, expanding the board with a director who has extensive biopharmaceutical leadership experience.
Whitaker has previously served as chief executive officer of Aerami Therapeutics, Novoclem Therapeutics and Synta Pharmaceuticals, and held senior roles at Bausch Health, Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline. She currently sits on the boards of publicly traded Basilea Pharmaceutica and ICON, as well as several private life sciences companies. Alkermes’ leadership highlighted her track record in driving growth, transformation and board-level decision-making as well suited to support the company’s commercial portfolio and neuroscience pipeline.
Alkermes (ALKS) launched the 9th annual Alkermes Pathways Research Awards program, offering competitive neuroscience research grants of up to $100,000 per project, with the stage one submission period running from Sept. 11 to Oct. 16, 2026.
The program continues to support work related to schizophrenia, bipolar I disorder and associated sleep and circadian disturbances, and now also includes narcolepsy types 1 and 2 and idiopathic hypersomnia. Early-career M.D., Ph.D. or equivalent investigators within five years of their initial academic appointment, or current post-doctoral fellows, affiliated with U.S. medical or research institutions may apply. Selected letters of intent will proceed to a full application phase from Nov. 15, 2026 through Jan. 5, 2027. Since 2018, the program has awarded about $2.9 million to 29 U.S. researchers.
Tortugas Neuroscience has appointed Jim Frates to its Board of Directors and named him Chair of the Audit Committee. Frates is a veteran biopharmaceutical finance executive who currently serves as chief financial officer of Amylyx Pharmaceuticals (AMLX) and previously spent more than two decades as CFO of Alkermes (ALKS).
Tortugas, launched in April 2026, is a clinical-stage CNS-focused biotech developing small molecule new chemical entities with differentiated mechanisms of action. Its in-licensed pipeline from Jiangsu Hansoh Pharmaceutical Group and Eisai includes potential treatments for schizophrenia, tinnitus, focal epilepsy, reversible encephalopathies and other high unmet-need CNS indications.
During Frates’ tenure at Alkermes, the company grew from a clinical-stage enterprise to an international commercial organization with multiple products, more than $1 billion in revenue and over 2,000 employees, and completed numerous acquisitions and financings. Frates expressed enthusiasm for supporting Tortugas’ leadership in advancing its clinical programs.
Alkermes (Nasdaq: ALKS) reported that data from its Vibrance-1 phase 2 study of alixorexton in adults with narcolepsy type 1 were published in The Lancet Neurology. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (n=92) tested once-daily 4 mg, 6 mg and 8 mg doses over six weeks.
Alixorexton achieved statistically significant improvements versus placebo in excessive daytime sleepiness on the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test and Epworth Sleepiness Scale, with all doses reaching normative ranges at week six. Weekly cataplexy rate was significantly reduced in the 6 mg group. Treatment was generally well tolerated with no serious treatment-emergent adverse events. These phase 2 results support Alkermes’ global Brilliance phase 3 program in narcolepsy type 1 and 2. Alixorexton has FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for NT1 and Orphan Drug designations in idiopathic hypersomnia and narcolepsy.