Exploratory Safety and Efficacy of EMP-01 in Social Anxiety Disorder

A Phase 2a, Exploratory, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial of the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of EMP-01 in Adult Participants With Social Anxiety Disorder

This Phase 2 study (protocol number EMP-01-201) will determine the safety and tolerability of a short-term treatment with an oral dosage form of EMP-01 in adult participants with social anxiety disorder (SAD) and will assess exploratory efficacy of repeated doses of EMP-01 versus placebo.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Social Anxiety Disorder
• Intervention / Treatment: Drug: EMP-01; Drug: EMP-01 Placebo

Detailed Description

This Phase 2, exploratory, multi-center, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial will enroll approximately 60 adult participants with SAD, randomized 1:1 to receive a total of 2 double-blind administrations of EMP-01 or placebo with a 4-week interval between each administration during the placebo-controlled treatment period. All participants will have their symptoms monitored for 6 weeks until the conclusion of the study. While the primary objective of the study is to assess the safety and tolerability of EMP-01 in participants with SAD, the secondary objective is to estimate any improvement in social anxiety symptoms of participants compared to placebo.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 70
• Phase: Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Leeds, United Kingdom, LS10 1DU
    • MAC Clinical Research Centre, West Yorkshire
  • Cannock, Staffordshire
    • Bridgetown, Cannock, Staffordshire, United Kingdom, S75 3DL
      • MAC Clinical Research - South Staffordshire
  • Greater Manchester
    • Manchester, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, M13 9NQ
      • MAC Clinical Research - Greater Manchester
  • Lancashire
    • Blackpool, Lancashire, United Kingdom, FY2 0JH
      • MAC Clinical Research - Lancashire
  • Merseyside
    • Liverpool, Merseyside, United Kingdom, L34 1BH
      • MAC Clinical Research - Merseyside
  • South Yorkshire
    • Tankersley, South Yorkshire, United Kingdom, S75 3DL
      • MAC Clinical Research - South Yorkshire
  • Stockton-on-Tees
    • Thornaby, Stockton-on-Tees, United Kingdom, TS17 6EW
      • MAC Clinical Research - Teesside

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Eligibility will be assessed at Screening and will be reconfirmed on Day -1 (Baseline) based on available information, before randomization on the following day (Day 1).

Participants must meet all of the following criteria to be enrolled in this study:

Age

1. Participants must be between 18 and 65 years of age, inclusive, at the time of signing the ICF.

   Disease Characteristics

2. Has a current diagnosis of SAD, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition Text Revision (DSM-5-TR), which is not better attributable to another psychiatric condition or to a medical condition. The diagnosis will be confirmed by the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI).
3. Clinician-administered LSAS total score ≥ 70 at Screening and Day -1.

4. Clinician Global Impressions - Severity (CGI-S) score ≥ 4 at Screening and Day-1.

   Weight

5. Body mass index (BMI) within the range 20-34 kg/m2 (inclusive) at Screening.
6. Able (in the investigator's opinion) to comprehend and be willing to sign an ICF, to abide by the study restrictions, and to attend all study visits.

Exclusion Criteria:

Participants who meet any of the following criteria will be excluded from this study:

Medical Conditions

1. Has a current or prior DSM-5-TR diagnosis of a schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder, substance/medication-induced psychotic disorder, bipolar and related disorder, or any disorder with psychotic features (including MDD with psychotic features), as assessed by medical history and a structured clinical interview (MINI).
2. Has a current or prior DSM-5-TR diagnosis of a neurocognitive disorder, intellectual disorder, dissociative disorder, disruptive/impulse-control/conduct disorder, autism spectrum disorder (level 2 or 3), or cluster A and B personality disorder, as assessed by medical history and a structured clinical interview (MINI). Inclusion of individuals with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder level 1 may be considered at the discretion of the investigator if the participant no longer meets criteria for the condition and current functioning and/or subthreshold symptoms will not interfere with treatment or compliance in the study.
3. Has a current DMS-5-TR diagnosis of SAD performance only sub-type, PTSD, acute stress disorder, anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or any other co-morbid psychiatric condition that dominates the clinical presentation and would interfere with experimental treatment.
4. Has a current DMS-5-TR disorder, other than SAD, which is the primary focus of treatment. Note that participants with concurrent GAD are eligible for the study, provided that GAD is not the primary diagnosis. Participants with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are eligible for the study, provided that they do not require pharmacological treatment for the condition AND if ADHD is not the primary diagnosis.
5. Has severe current depression, as measured by a total score ≥ 16 on the QIDS-SR-16.
6. Has a history of moderate or severe alcohol or cannabis use disorder within 1 year before Screening. Has any severity (including mild) of other substance use disorder (drug) within 1 year before Screening, as confirmed by the MINI.
7. Has had suicidal ideation with some intent to act within 6 months before Screening or a history of suicidal behavior within the past 1 year before Screening.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Quadruple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: EMP-01	Drug: EMP-01; EMP-01 capsules
Placebo Comparator: EMP-01 Placebo	Drug: EMP-01 Placebo; EMP-01 placebo capsules

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Incidence and severity of treatment emergent adverse events, adverse events of special interest and serious adverse events.	Assess the safety and tolerability of EMP-01 compared with placebo (PBO) in participants with SAD.	Day 1 to EOS [Day 43]
Incidence of clinically significant abnormalities in physical examinations, vital signs, electrocardiogram parameters, and safety laboratory results.	Assess the safety of EMP-01 compared with placebo (PBO) in participants with SAD.	Day 1 [post-dose] to Day 57
Columbia-Suicide Severity Rating Scale (C-SSRS) Score	Assess the safety of EMP-01 compared with placebo (PBO) in participants with SAD.	Baseline to Day 57

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS)	Change from Baseline in the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS) total score at Day 43 to evaluate the treatment difference in EMP-01 compared with PBO in improving social anxiety symptoms in participants with SAD 6 weeks after initiating treatment.	Baseline to EOS [Day 43]

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: atai Therapeutics, Inc.
• Collaborators: EmpathBio, Inc.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): April 15, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 12, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): February 12, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 12, 2024
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 14, 2024
• First Posted (Actual): November 18, 2024

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 17, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 12, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Social Anxiety Disorder
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Phobic Disorders; Anxiety Disorders; Phobia, Social
• Other Study ID Numbers: EMP-01-201

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No