Avanir Pharmaceuticals announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will extend the review period by 90 days for the Neurodex new drug application (NDA) for Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder (IEED). The new PDUFA date will be October 30, 2006. The additional time is needed to allow the FDA sufficient time to review the final study report of the recently completed thorough QT study.

"While we are disappointed that there will be a delay in hearing about the status of the Neurodex NDA, we believe the QT data provides added support to the safety profile of the drug," said Eric K. Brandt, president and chief executive officer of Avanir. "Avanir has had a strong and collaborative relationship with the FDA and we will continue to work to achieve the approval of Neurodex for IEED."

Neurodex is a combination of two well-characterized compounds, the active ingredient dextromethorphan, and the enzyme inhibitor quinidine, which serves to increase the bioavailability of dextromethorphan. The first-in-class drug candidate is believed to help regulate excitatory neurotransmission in two ways, through presynaptic inhibition of glutamate release via sigma-1 receptor agonist activity, and through postsynaptic glutamate response modulation via uncompetitive, low-affinity NMDA antagonist activity.