FDA approves Cara’s drug for severe itching in kidney disease patients

The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday approved Cara Therapeutics’s (CARA.O) drug to treat moderate-to-severe itching in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing dialysis, making it the first therapy for the ailment in the United States.

The company expects to commercially launch the injection, Korsuva, in the first quarter of 2022, Derek Chalmers, Chief Executive Officer, Cara Therapeutics, said in an interview.

The drug is designed to be administered three times a week after each dialysis. It reduces the activity of the sensory nerve that relays itching from the skin to the spinal cord and subsequently to the brain.

Chronic kidney disease patients with severe itching currently take depressants such as barbiturates and allergy medication antihistamines.