Cambridge firm's autism drug fails test, families upset

In a development painfully familiar to autism families, the Cambridge company behind a new treatment for autism and a related condition, fragile X, cancelled its late-stage trial. Parents with children in the trial said the drug, arbaclofen, reduced anxiety levels in their children. But the company, Seaside Therapeutics, said it failed to improve the social withdrawal that is so characteristic of people with autism and fragile X.