Travere Therapeutics drug, approved for one rare and deadly kidney disease, fails in study of another
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SAN DIEGO — Travere Therapeutics, a biotech focused on treating rare diseases, on Monday announced that a Phase 3 trial of an experimental treatment for focal segmental glomerulosclerosis,
a rare and deadly kidney disease, failed to improve kidney function.
In the 371-person study, half of patients were randomly assigned to receive the drug, known as sparsentan, while the other half received irbesartan, a blood pressure treatment used as a
control. Both groups were monitored for two years, and while the study’s main measurement — average kidney function — was higher among patients on sparsentan compared to the placebo group,
the finding was not statistically significant.
Other secondary measures, such as urine protein levels, were lower among those on the drug, pointing in the right direction, and the company told investors and analysts in a conference call
on Monday that the therapy was generally safe.