PF-06412562 · program

PF-06412562 (CVL-562) for Schizophrenia

Phase 2UnknownCerevel Therapeutics

PF-06412562 (CVL-562), a selective D1/D5 partial agonist, studied for cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. Pfizer's Phase 1b study in 95 psychiatrically stable patients on antipsychotics (NCT02418819; 3, 9 or 45 mg twice daily for 15 days) found the drug safe and well tolerated but showed no benefit over placebo on the MATRICS working-memory composite, reward-related striatal fMRI activation or 2-back accuracy; the 45 mg group improved significantly less than placebo on working memory (p=0.038).

Development timeline

Phase 2Mar 2021 – Oct 2025
  1. Results of the Yale-led TRANSCENDS Phase 2 target-engagement study of CVL-562 in early-course schizophrenia posted to ClinicalTrials.gov.
  2. Trial (portion) completedTRANSCENDS Phase 2 study of CVL-562 completes
  3. Yale-led, NIMH-funded Phase 2 target-engagement study TRANSCENDS (NCT04457310) of CVL-562 in early-course schizophrenia started; Cerevel Therapeutics is a collaborator.
  4. Trial startedYale-led Phase 2 TRANSCENDS study of CVL-562 in early-course schizophrenia starts
Phase 1Apr 2015 – Jul 2019
  1. missedPhase 1b of PF-06412562 in stable schizophrenia: safe and well tolerated, but no benefit over placebo on working memory, reward processing or 2-back accuracy over 15 days.↗
  2. NCT02418819 completed October 2016 (month precision); published results showed no benefit over placebo on cognition or reward processing.
  3. Trial terminatedPfizer terminates healthy-volunteer study of PF-06412562 for a business decision
  4. Pfizer Phase 1b study B7441007 (NCT02418819) in psychiatrically stable patients with schizophrenia started April 2015 (month precision on the registry).

Readouts

  • 2025-10-15ReportedRegistry resultsNCT04457310

    Results of the Yale-led TRANSCENDS Phase 2 target-engagement study of CVL-562 in early-course schizophrenia posted to ClinicalTrials.gov.

  • 2019-07-02ReportedFull resultsmissedNCT02418819

    Phase 1b of PF-06412562 in stable schizophrenia: safe and well tolerated, but no benefit over placebo on working memory, reward processing or 2-back accuracy over 15 days. ↗

Clinical trials in Schizophrenia

NCT044573102000027506Phase 2Completedn=112

A Translational and Neurocomputational Evaluation of a Dopamine Receptor 1 Partial Agonist for Schizophrenia

Started Mar 2021· Primary completion Mar 2024· 📍 4 sites across 1 country (United States)

NCT02418819B7441007Phase 1Completedn=103

A Study To Examine Safety, Pharmacokinetics, And Pharmacodynamic Of Pf 06412562 In Subjects With Schizophrenia

Started Apr 2015· Primary completion Oct 2016· 📍 6 sites across 1 country (United States)

metsafetySafety and tolerability (adjunctive to antipsychotics)

Adjunctive PF-06412562 was safe and well tolerated in patients with schizophrenia over 15 days.

missedprimaryChange from baseline in anterior ventral striatum BOLD activation (Monetary Incentive Delay, cue gain > cue no gain) on Day 15

No PF-06412562 dose differed significantly from placebo.

missedprimaryChange from baseline to Day 13 in MATRICS working-memory composite (0.038 (45 mg worse than placebo))

Working memory improved in all groups; the 45 mg group improved least and significantly less than placebo (two-sided p=0.038). No dose showed benefit over placebo.

Formulations

FormulationRouteRegimenPharmacokinetics
PF-06412562 oral tablet (immediate- and modified-release)
Schizophrenia Phase 1b (NCT02418819): 3, 9 or 45 mg twice daily as modified-release tablets for 15 days. Yale Phase 2 (NCT04457310): single doses of 1, 4, 15 and 25 mg vs placebo before fMRI sessions. A healthy-volunteer study (NCT02201511) compared modified-release tablets (3 mg; 2 x 15 mg fasted and fed) with a 10 mg immediate-release tablet.
OralTwice daily—

Mechanism of action (compound-wide)

Orally bioavailable, non-catechol, selective partial agonist at dopamine D1 and D5 receptors (Gs-coupled class-A GPCRs). The clinical hypothesis is that moderate D1/D5 stimulation in prefrontal cortex improves working memory and other cognitive functions that are impaired in schizophrenia, without the poor bioavailability and pharmacokinetics that limited earlier catechol D1 agonists.

TargetActionAffinity
D1primaryDRD1Partial agonist—ⓘ
D5DRD5Partial agonist—ⓘ

← Full PF-06412562 compound page (identity, identifiers, all indications)

Sources

  1. Arce E, et al. A novel approach to evaluate the pharmacodynamics of a selective dopamine D1/D5 receptor partial agonist (PF-06412562) in patients with stable schizophrenia. J Psychopharmacol. 2019 — Journal of Psychopharmacology / PubMed
  2. Evaluation of D1/D5 Partial Agonist PF-06412562 in Parkinson's Disease following Oral Administration. Neurodegener Dis. 2018 — Neuro-degenerative Diseases / PubMed
  3. NCT02306876 (B7441004) - PF-06412562 in healthy males (terminated, Pfizer business decision) — ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
  4. NCT02418819 (B7441007) - Phase 1b study of PF-06412562 in psychiatrically stable subjects with schizophrenia — ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine)
  5. NCT04457310 - A Translational and Neurocomputational Evaluation of a Dopamine Receptor 1 Partial Agonist for Schizophrenia (CVL-562) — ClinicalTrials.gov (U.S. National Library of Medicine)