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OPKO Health, Inc. (NYSE:OPK) , today announced the presentation of additional phase 3 clinical data in a poster at the National Kidney Foundation’s Spring Clinical Meetings on March 27-28th, 2015 in Dallas, Texas, that will include data for 429 patients completing up to twelve months of treatment in OPKO’s phase 3 trials for Rayaldee as a treatment for secondary hyperparathyroidism (SHPT) in patients with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) and vitamin D insufficiency. The data to be presented will highlight the unexpected finding that responses to Rayaldee treatment are as good in patients with stage 4 CKD as they are in stage 3 CKD. The data support the conclusion that Rayaldee effectively controls SHPT through the correction of vitamin D insufficiency irrespective of CKD severity.
OPKO’s poster presentation is entitled: “Modified-Release Calcifediol Is Effective for SHPT in Both Stages 3 and 4 CKD.”
Session details: March 27-28, No. 156; Category: CKD/ESRD-Mineral Metabolism and Kidney Stones.
About RayaldeeTM
Rayaldee is a first-in-class oral vitamin D prohormone treatment being developed for SHPT in patients with stage 3 or 4 CKD and vitamin D insufficiency. It has a proprietary modified-release formulation designed to gradually and reliably raise serum total 25-hydroxyvitamin D (prohormone) concentrations to targeted levels (at least 30 ng/mL) while avoiding upregulation of CYP24, a cytochrome P-450 enzyme that reduces the parathyroid hormone (PTH)-lowering potency of current vitamin D supplements. Activation of calcifediol, the active ingredient in Rayaldee, by the kidney is tightly regulated, preventing excessive elevation of serum calcium and related side effects which limit the value of current vitamin D hormone therapies by promoting vascular and renal calcification. Rayaldee is expected to address the approximately 8 million patients in the U.S., and many more elsewhere, with stage 3 or 4 CKD, SHPT and vitamin D insufficiency.
About Chronic Kidney Disease
CKD is a condition characterized by a progressive decline in kidney function. The kidney is normally responsible for excreting waste and excess water from the body, and for regulating various hormones. CKD is classified in five different stages – mild (stage 1) to severe (stage 5) disease – as measured by the kidney’s glomerular filtration rate. According to the National Kidney Foundation, CKD afflicts over 26 million people in the U.S., including more than 20 million patients with moderate (stages 3 or 4) and severe (stage 5) forms of CKD. In stage 5 CKD, kidney function is minimal to absent and patients require regular dialysis or a kidney transplant for survival.
About Vitamin D Insufficiency
Vitamin D insufficiency is a condition in which the body has low vitamin D stores, characterized by inadequate blood levels of vitamin D prohormone, known as 25-hydroxyvitamin D. An estimated 70-90% of CKD patients have vitamin D insufficiency, which can lead to SHPT and resultant debilitating bone diseases. Vitamin D insufficiency has been associated with increased mortality in CKD.
About Secondary Hyperparathyroidism (SHPT)
SHPT is a condition commonly associated with CKD in which the parathyroid glands secrete excessive amounts of PTH. SHPT arises as a result of vitamin D insufficiency or impaired kidney function that prevents sufficient production of vitamin D hormone to properly regulate calcium and phosphorus metabolism, and PTH secretion. Prolonged elevation of blood PTH causes excessive calcium and phosphorus to be released from bone, leading to elevated serum calcium and phosphorus, softening of the bones (osteomalacia) and calcification of vascular and renal tissues. SHPT affects 40-60% of patients with moderate CKD and approximately 90% of patients with severe CKD. Vitamin D therapy for SHPT is associated with reduced mortality in CKD patients.
About OPKO
OPKO is a multinational biopharmaceutical and diagnostics company that seeks to establish industry leading positions in large, rapidly growing markets by leveraging its discovery, development and commercialization expertise and novel and proprietary technologies. For more information, visit http://www.opko.com.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements,” as that term is defined under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA), regarding product development efforts and other non-historical facts about our expectations, beliefs or intentions regarding our business, technologies and products, financial condition, strategies or prospects, including statements regarding our ability to successfully launch and commercialize proprietary renal disease products, expectations about Rayaldee, that Rayaldee will effectively control secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with stage 3 or 4 chronic kidney disease by correcting vitamin D insufficiency, whether Rayaldee is appropriate for patients with minimal functioning kidney mass and its efficacy during longer term administration, whether Rayaldee will be highly effective in correcting vitamin D insufficiency, allowing more reliable treatment of patients, whether it is the solution to secondary hyperparathyroidism associated with vitamin D insufficiency for the 20 million pre-dialysis CKD patients in the U.S. and elsewhere, market potential for Rayaldee, that it will address the approximately 8 million CKD stage 3 and 4 patients in the U.S. and many more elsewhere, with SHPT and vitamin D insufficiency, that Rayaldee will treat vitamin D insufficiency and gradually correct elevated PTH, without safety concerns, and that we will be able to successfully develop, obtain approval for and launch sales of Rayaldee. Many factors could cause our actual activities or results to differ materially from the activities and results anticipated in forward-looking statements. These factors include those described in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as risks inherent in funding, developing and obtaining regulatory approvals of new, commercially-viable and competitive products and treatments, including the risks that the phase 3 clinical trials for Rayaldee may not generate data that would support the approval or marketing of this product for the indications being studied, that others may develop products which are superior to Rayaldee, and that Rayaldee may not have advantages or prove to be superior over presently marketed products, including the currently used high monthly doses of prescription vitamin D2, activated vitamin D hormone and over-the-counter vitamin D supplements. In addition, forward-looking statements may also be adversely affected by general market factors, competitive product development, product availability, federal and state regulations and legislation, the regulatory process for new products and indications, manufacturing issues that may arise, patent positions and litigation, among other factors. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date the statements were made and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements. We intend that all forward-looking statements be subject to the safe-harbor provisions of the PSLRA.
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