Chinook Therapeutics announced that their drug, atrasentan, has been granted orphan drug designation by the European Commission for the treatment of primary IgA nephropathy (IgAN). The chronic kidney disease (CKD), IgAN, is the most common primary glomerular disease globally with up to 45 percent of IgAN patients progressing to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) that requires dialysis or kidney transplantation. Currently, there are no approved therapies for IgAN and just a limited number of treatment options for high-risk patients. Atrasentan is a selective inhibitor of the endothelin A receptor (ETA) that aims to reduce proteinuria and have direct anti-inflammatory and anti-fibrotic effects, ultimately preserving kidney function. Orphan drug designation is granted to medicines that are intended to treat, prevent, or diagnose a life-threatening or chronically debilitating rare diseases in which there is no current approved method of diagnosis, prevention, or treatment for those affected by the disease. Chinook Therapeutics is biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development, and commercialization of medicines for a wide range of chronic kidney diseases.
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