In a presentation made late Wednesday at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association, the companies said the drug showed significant improvement over the placebo on the primary efficacy endpoint in a six-week study of adolescents 13 to 17 years old.

Aripiprazole, an atypical antipsychotic marketed under the name Abilify, is indicated for the treatment of agitation in adults with schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, manic or mixed, according to the companies. It's used to maintain stability for schizophrenia patients who were symptomatically stable on other antipsychotic medications for at least three months and relapsed during a period of up to 26 weeks.

Bristol-Meyers Squibb was up 18 cents, or 0.6%, at $30.18 in recent trading Thursday.