May 29 (Reuters) - Johnson & Johnson ( JNJ ) said on

Wednesday its experimental drug helped reduce symptoms of major

depressive disorder (MDD) and insomnia in a late-stage trial

when given along with commonly used antipsychotic treatments.

The drug candidate known as seltorexant was administered to

adult and elderly patients assessed to be moderate to severely

depressed despite ongoing treatment with antidepressants and

suffered from significant sleep disturbance.

MDD is one of the most common chronic mental disorders in

the United States, according to the National Institutes of

Health.

J&J's drug candidate met both main and secondary trial

goals, showing improvement in depressive symptoms when tested on

a scale used to measure the severity of depressive episodes and

also improved sleep disturbance outcomes in patients.

The drugmaker said seltorexant was also safe and

well-tolerated in the study, with similar rates of common

adverse events seen in both trial arms, consistent with previous

trials.

Seltorexant works by selectively targeting proteins known as

orexin-2 receptors, which play a key role in sleep-wake rhythm

of the body.

When orexin-2 receptors are stimulated for too long, their

activation can cause a group of symptoms, including excessive

cortisol release, which may contribute to depression and

insomnia.

About 21 million adults in the United States had at least

one episode of major depressive disorder in 2021, according to

government estimates.

The mood disorder's symptoms include sadness, helplessness

and feelings of guilt, and it is often accompanied by sleep

disturbances such as insomnia that exacerbate the risk of

depressive relapse, increase healthcare costs and impact quality

of life.

With currently no therapies approved to treat the disease,

60% of MDD patients on standard-of-care oral antidepressants

experience residual insomnia symptoms, the company said in a

statement.