Unicycive Therapeutics Announces Receipt of Complete Response Letter for Oxylanthanum Carbonate for the Treatment of Hyperphosphatemia in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease on Dialysis

Unicycive Therapeutics, Inc. (“Unicycive” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: UNCY), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapies for patients with kidney disease,  announced  the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  issuing  a CRL for its New Drug Application (NDA) for OLC to treat hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis.

“We plan to immediately seek a Type A meeting with the Agency to gain alignment on the best strategy to ensure rapid resolution of the CRL,” said Shalabh Gupta, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Unicycive. “With a second manufacturing vendor identified that has produced OLC drug product, we remain optimistic about our ability to bring this promising new treatment option to patients with CKD on dialysis who are managing hyperphosphatemia, and we plan to provide an update as soon as we have additional clarity on next steps from the FDA.”

After submitting the NDA, and as a part of the application review and routine information requests, the FDA notified Unicycive that a third-party manufacturing vendor of its main contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) was cited for deficiencies following a cGMP inspection. This citation is unrelated to OLC. Unicycive also notes that as part of the NDA review, the Agency has not highlighted any other technical concerns related to the submitted CMC documentation or testing of OLC itself.

As part of its overall manufacturing strategy, the Company had previously identified a back-up third-party manufacturing vendor to build redundancy into its supply chain. The second vendor has a long history of successful FDA and international regulatory inspections and has already produced OLC drug product, which could also be used to support the resolution of the CMC issues identified in the CRL.

About Oxylanthanum Carbonate (OLC)

OLC is an investigational oral phosphate binder that leverages proprietary nanoparticle technology to deliver high phosphate binding potency, reducing the number and size of pills that patients must take to treat hyperphosphatemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) on dialysis. Its potential best-in-class profile may have meaningful patient adherence benefits over currently available treatment options as it requires a lower pill burden.

Unicycive is seeking FDA approval of OLC via the 505(b)(2) regulatory pathway. The NDA submission package is based on data from three clinical studies (a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers, a bioequivalence study in healthy volunteers, and a tolerability study of OLC in CKD patients on dialysis), multiple preclinical studies, and the chemistry, manufacturing and controls (CMC) data. OLC is protected by a strong global patent portfolio including issued patents on composition of matter with exclusivity until 2031, and with the potential for patent term extension until 2035.

About Hyperphosphatemia

Hyperphosphatemia is a serious medical condition that occurs in nearly all patients with End Stage Renal Disease (ESRD). Annually there are over 450,000 individuals in the U.S. that require medication to control their phosphate levels.1 Uncontrolled hyperphosphatemia is strongly associated with increased death and hospitalization for CKD patients on dialysis. Treatment of hyperphosphatemia is aimed at lowering serum phosphate levels via two means: (1) restricting dietary phosphorus intake; and (2) using, on a daily basis, and with each meal, oral phosphate binding drugs that facilitate fecal elimination of dietary phosphate rather than its absorption from the gastrointestinal tract into the bloodstream.

Unicycive Therapeutics Announces Receipt of Complete Response Letter for Oxylanthanum Carbonate for the Treatment of Hyperphosphatemia in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease on Dialysis

Aldeyra Therapeutics Announces FDA Acceptance for Review of Reproxalap New Drug Application for the Treatment of Dry Eye Disease

Aldeyra Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq: ALDX) (Aldeyra)  announced   the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)   acceptance the  review of the resubmitted New Drug Application (NDA) for topical ocular reproxalap, a first-in-class investigational new drug candidate, for the treatment of the signs and symptoms of dry eye disease. The FDA assigned a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target action date of December 16, 2025.

“Based on the FDA’s requirement for an additional clinical trial demonstrating the efficacy of reproxalap in treating the symptoms of dry eye disease, and per agreement with the FDA, the NDA resubmission contained a single clinical trial that achieved the primary endpoint of reducing ocular discomfort relative to the vehicle control,” stated Todd C. Brady, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Aldeyra. “We look forward to a productive dialog with the FDA during the NDA review of reproxalap, which, to our knowledge, remains the only dry eye disease investigational therapy to have demonstrated acute activity in reducing ocular discomfort and redness in pivotal trials simulating the disease flares that are likely the most bothersome aspects of dry eye disease.”

About Reproxalap

Reproxalap is an investigational new drug candidate in development for the treatment of dry eye disease and allergic conjunctivitis, two of the largest markets in ophthalmology. Reproxalap is a first-in-class small-molecule modulator of RASP, which are elevated in ocular and systemic inflammatory diseases. The mechanism of action of reproxalap has been supported by the demonstration of statistically significant and clinically relevant activity in multiple physiologically distinct late-phase clinical indications. Reproxalap has been studied in more than 2,900 patients with no observed safety concerns; mild and transient instillation site irritation is the most commonly reported adverse event in clinical trials.

https://go.drugbank.com/drugs/DB16688