By Puyaan Singh and Bhanvi Satija (Reuters) -AbbVie shares fell over 12% on Monday after an experimental schizophrenia drug the company acquired last year failed two mid-stage studies, widening rival Bristol Myers Squibb's lead in the market for new treatments for the condition.

AbbVie said a recently acquired drug candidate for schizophrenia missed the key goal in mid-stage studies, pushing its stock sharply lower. Phase 2 studies for emraclidine failed to show a statistically significant improvement in symptoms after six weeks,

The failure of emraclidine, which AbbVie obtained after acquiring Cerevel, may present a considerable advantage for rival BMS.