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JNJ-42165279

Phase 2

Autism Spectrum Disorder | Small molecule | Psychiatry |Johnson & Johnson|Trials Updated: Apr 29, 2025

JNJ-42165279 development status

Highest phase Phase 2
Registered trials 6 across 2 sponsors since Feb 2014

JNJ-42165279 target and mechanism

Molecular targetFAAH
Target classInhibitor
ModalitySmall molecule

Success Probability

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Market & Valuation

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Trial Design

RandomizedDouble-BlindPLACEBO_CONTROLLEDDMC
Total Trials3
Total Enrollment389

FDA Designations

No designations recorded

JNJ-42165279 clinical trials

JNJ-42165279 · 3 trials · 4 indications

Phase 2 3
NCT03664232A Study to Investigate the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of JNJ-42165279 in Adolescent and Adult Participants With Autism Spectrum DisorderAutism Spectrum Disorder
COMPLETED78 Analytics
NCT02498392An Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability Study of JNJ-42165279 in Participants With Major Depressive Disorder With Anxious DistressDepressive Disorder
COMPLETED161 Analytics
NCT02432703A Safety and Efficacy Study of JNJ-42165279 in Participants With Social Anxiety DisorderPhobic Disorders
COMPLETED150 Analytics
PHASE2COMPLETED
A Study to Investigate the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of JNJ-42165279 in Adolescent and Adult Participants With Autism Spectrum Disorder
Autism Spectrum DisorderUnlock trial analytics
PHASE2COMPLETED
An Efficacy, Safety and Tolerability Study of JNJ-42165279 in Participants With Major Depressive Disorder With Anxious Distress
Depressive DisorderUnlock trial analytics
PHASE2COMPLETED
A Safety and Efficacy Study of JNJ-42165279 in Participants With Social Anxiety Disorder
Phobic DisordersUnlock trial analytics

Study Endpoints

Primary Endpoints

Change From Baseline to Day 85 in the Autism Behavior Inventory (ABI) Core Domain Score (Social Communication and Restrictive Behaviour)
Baseline (Day 1) to Day 85

ABI:62-item questionnaire to track outcomes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Each item was answered on 1 of 2 possible dimensions: quality (how well person carries out particular behavior; 1 to 13 items) or frequency (how often particular behavior occurs; 14 to 62 items). Each item was rated on scale of 0 (never) to 3 (very often) for frequency and 0 (without help) to 3 (not at all) for quality. Higher score=severe symptoms/more frequency. ABI core domain score was from 2 domains: social communication (23 items; 3 sub-domains) and repetitive/restrictive behavior (RRB;15 items; 4 sub-domains). Domain and sub-domain scores: calculated as average of non-missing items (ie, sum of all non-missing items divided by number of non-missing items); scores ranged from 0 to 3, higher scores=more severe symptoms of ASD. ABI core domain score=sum of social communication and RRB domain scores divided by total number of items in these 2 domains. Negative changes in ABI core domain score=improvement.

Change From Baseline to Day 85 in the ABI Social Communication Domain Score
Baseline (Day 1) to Day 85

ABI was 62-item questionnaire completed on a web/mobile application or on paper. It tracks outcomes in ASD. Each ABI item was answered on 1 of 2 possible dimensions, quality (how well a person carries out a particular behavior; 1 to 13 items) or frequency (how often a particular behavior occurs; 14 to 62 items). Each item was rated on scale of 0 (never) to 3 (very often) for frequency and 0 (without help) to 3 (not at all) for quality. Higher score indicated severe symptoms/more frequency. The ABI social communication domain score consisted of 23 items; with 3 sub-domains. The domain and sub-domain scores were calculated as the average of the non-missing items (ie, sum of all non-missing items divided by the number of non-missing items). For both domains and its sub-domains, scores ranged from 0 to 3 with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms of ASD. Negative change in score indicates improvement.

Change From Baseline to Day 85 in the ABI Repetitive/Restrictive Behavior (RRB) Domain Score
Baseline (Day 1) to Day 85

ABI is 62-item questionnaire completed on a web/mobile application or on paper. It tracks outcomes in ASD. Each ABI item was answered on 1 of 2 possible dimensions, quality (how well a person carries out a particular behavior; 1 to 13 items) or frequency (how often a particular behavior occurs; 14 to 62 items). Each item was rated on scale of 0 (never) to 3 (very often) for frequency and 0 (without help) to 3 (not at all) for quality. Higher score indicated severe symptoms/more frequency. The ABI RRB domain score consisted of 15 items; with 3 sub-domains. The domain and sub-domain scores were calculated as the average of the non-missing items (ie, sum of all non-missing items divided by the number of non-missing items). For both domains and its sub-domains, scores ranged from 0 to 3 with higher scores indicating more severe symptoms of ASD. Negative change in score indicates improvement.

Change From Baseline to Day 85 in the Social Responsiveness Scale 2 (SRS-2) Total T-Score
Baseline (Day 1) to Day 85

SRS-2: 65-item scale measured extent of autistic social impairment and included 5 subscales: social awareness, social cognition, social communication, social motivation, and restricted interests and repetitive behavior. Each of 65 items had 4 responses: not true, sometimes true, often true, and almost always true. Scoring value for each item was 0 to 3. If a response to an item was missing, then pre-defined median value for item (0 or 1) was imputed. SRS-2 was not scored if 7 or more item responses were missed. Total raw score was sum of item response values. Each subscale was obtained by adding response values and converted total raw score to standardized T-score based on gender and rater (parent or caregiver). Total T-score was categorized: within normal limits (\<=59), mild (60 to 65), moderate (66 to 75) and severe (\>=76). For total score T-score, higher scores=more severe symptoms. SRS T-score had mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10. Negative changes in T-scores=improvement.

Double-blind Treatment Period: Change From Baseline in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS17) Total Score at Week 6 (eITT Population)
Baseline and Week 6

HDRS17 is clinician-administered rating scale designed to assess severity of symptoms in participants diagnosed with depression. Each of 17 items is rated by clinician on either 3-point (0-2) or 5-point (0-4) scale with rating of 0: absent, 1: doubtful to mild, 2: mild to moderate, 3: moderate to severe, and 4: very severe. A total score (0 to 52) was calculated by adding scores of all 17 items. For each item as well as total score, higher score represents more severe condition.

Double-blind Treatment Period: Change From Baseline in HDRS17 Total Score at Week 6 (fITT Population)
Baseline and Week 6

HDRS17 is a clinician-administered rating scale designed to assess severity of symptoms in participants diagnosed with depression. Each of the 17 items is rated by clinician on either a 3-point (0 to 2) or a 5-point (0 to 4) scale which used a rating of 0: absent, 1: doubtful to mild, 2: mild to moderate, 3: moderate to severe, and 4: very severe. HDRS17 total score is calculated as sum of 17 item scores and ranges from 0 to 52. For each item as well as the total score, higher scores indicate greater severity of depression.

Change From Baseline in Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) Total Score
Baseline and Week 12

The LSAS is a 24-item, semi-structured interview on the severity of Social Anxiety Disorder. The LSAS separately assesses fear and avoidance of 24 social situations. The scale is divided into 2 subscales, 13 situations concerning performance anxiety, and 11 situations pertaining to social situations. The 24 items are first rated on a Likert Scale from 0 to 3 on fear felt during the situations (0=none, 1=mild, 2=moderate, 3= severe), and then the same items are rated regarding avoidance of the situation (0=never, 1=occasionally, 2=often, 3=usually) with higher scores indicating greater social anxiety. The LSAS fear/anxiety and avoidance subscale was calculated by summing the 24 fear/anxiety and avoidance item scores of the LSAS, and ranges from 0 to 72. Combining the total scores for the Fear and Avoidance sections provides an overall score with a maximum of 144 points and a minimum of 0 points. Higher scores indicated higher probability of social anxiety disorder (SAD).

Secondary Endpoints

Change From Baseline to Day 85 in the ABI Mood and Anxiety Domain Score
Baseline (Day 1) to Day 85
Change From Baseline to Day 85 in the ABI Challenging Behavior Domain Score
Baseline (Day 1) to Day 85
Change From Baseline to Day 85 in the ABI Self-Regulation Domain Score
Baseline (Day 1) to Day 85
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Study Design & Arms

AllocationRANDOMIZED
MaskingDOUBLE
ModelPARALLEL
PurposeTREATMENT

Treatment Arms

ArmTypeDescription
JNJ-42165279EXPERIMENTALParticipants will self-administer 25 milligram (mg) JNJ-42165279 tablets orally twice daily for 12 weeks.
PlaceboPLACEBO_COMPARATORParticipants will self-administer matching placebo tablets orally twice daily for 12 weeks.
Responders-PlaceboPLACEBO_COMPARATORParticipants who responded in the placebo lead-in period will be administered with Matching Placebo orally.
Responders-JNJ-42165279EXPERIMENTALParticipants who responded in the placebo lead-in period will be administered with JNJ-42165279 orally at a dose of 25 milligrams (mg) tablets once daily for 6 weeks.
Non Responders-PlaceboPLACEBO_COMPARATORParticipants who did not respond in the placebo lead-in period will be administered with Matching Placebo orally.
Non Responders-JNJ-42165279EXPERIMENTALParticipants who did not respond in the placebo lead-in period will be administered with JNJ-42165279 orally at a dose of 25 mg tablets once daily for 6 weeks.

Interventions

NameTypeDescription
JNJ-42165279DRUGParticipants will receive 25 mg JNJ-42165279 orally twice daily for 12 weeks.
PlaceboDRUGParticipants will receive a matching placebo orally twice daily for 12 weeks.
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Eligibility Criteria

Age Range13 Years to 35 Years
SexALL
Healthy VolunteersNo
Study Sites9

Inclusion Criteria: * Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - 5th Edition (DSM-5) criteria and made or confirmed using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd edition (ADOS-2) (minimum score of 8 \[autism spectrum\]) *...

Countries:United StatesMoldovaRussiaSpainUkraineUnited KingdomAustraliaCanada
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Competitive Landscape -Autism Spectrum Disorder 23 trials

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Frequently asked questions about JNJ-42165279

What is JNJ-42165279?

JNJ-42165279 is an investigational small molecule FAAH inhibitor developed by Johnson & Johnson for psychiatric conditions. It has been studied in Phase 2 clinical trials for autism spectrum disorder, major depressive disorder with anxious distress, and social anxiety disorder. It is not approved and remains in clinical development.

What is JNJ-42165279 used for?

JNJ-42165279 has been studied in clinical trials for autism spectrum disorder, depressive disorder with anxious distress, and phobic disorders such as social anxiety disorder. These are investigational uses only, as the drug has not received regulatory approval for any indication.

What does JNJ-42165279 target?

JNJ-42165279 targets fatty acid amide hydrolase, or FAAH, and acts as an inhibitor of this enzyme. FAAH inhibition is the mechanism explored in its clinical program for psychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Who makes JNJ-42165279?

JNJ-42165279 is developed by Johnson & Johnson, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker JNJ. The company sponsors the clinical trials evaluating the compound.

What phase is JNJ-42165279 in?

JNJ-42165279 is in Phase 2 development. All of its listed trials are Phase 2 studies, and the program has not advanced to Phase 3. The drug is investigational and has not been approved by the FDA or any other regulator.

What clinical trials is JNJ-42165279 in?

JNJ-42165279 has been evaluated in three completed Phase 2 trials: NCT03664232 in adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorder, NCT02498392 in major depressive disorder with anxious distress, and NCT02432703 in social anxiety disorder. All were randomized, double-blind, and placebo-controlled.