Alto Neuroscience: No demonstrative efficacy in MDD patients with vortioxetine

Alto Neuroscience announced a peer-review publication demonstrating baseline cognitive performance is not a moderator of response to standard-of-care antidepressants in patients with major depressive disorder MDD . The analysis, titled “Baseline Cognition Is Not Associated With Depression Outcomes in Vortioxetine for Major Depressive Disorder: Findings From Placebo-Controlled Trials,” was published online in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. Prior studies have shown that patients with depression, who are characterized by poor cognition, are generally more chronic, disabled, resistant to treatment and experience greater functional impairment. The current analysis suggests that, despite its reported benefits for aspects of cognition, the monoamine-based agent vortioxetine does not show greater benefit on depressive symptoms in MDD patients with cognitive impairment.