ZURAMPIC approved by US FDA for patients with gout

AstraZeneca announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved ZURAMPIC® (lesinurad) 200mg tablets in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor (XOI) for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with gout in patients who have not achieved target serum uric acid (sUA) levels with an XOI alone.

ZURAMPIC inhibits the urate transporter, URAT1, which is responsible for the majority of the renal reabsorption of uric acid. By inhibiting URAT1, ZURAMPIC increases uric acid excretion and thereby lowers sUA.

In combination with the current standard of care, XOIs allopurinol or febuxostat, ZURAMPIC provides a dual mechanism of action to increase excretion and decrease production of uric acid, enabling more patients with inadequately controlled gout to achieve target treatment goals.

The FDA approval is based on data from three pivotal Phase III studies, CLEAR1, CLEAR2 and CRYSTAL, which represent the largest clinical trial data set of gout patients (n=1,537 total) treated with combination urate lowering therapy.

Gout is a serious and debilitating form of inflammatory arthritis caused by hyperuricemia (elevated sUA). It affects millions of people around the globe, many of whom do not reach recommended sUA treatment goals on XOIs, which decrease production of uric acid. For those inadequately controlled patients, the addition of a urate-lowering therapy to increase excretion of uric acid may help them achieve treatment goals.

FDA Advisory Committee recommends the approval of lesinurad for gout patients

AstraZeneca today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Arthritis Advisory Committee (AAC) voted 10 to 4 to recommend the approval of lesinurad 200mg tablets for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with gout, in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor (XOI). The AAC reviewed safety and efficacy data from the pivotal Phase III combination therapy programme trials, representing the largest clinical trial data set of gout patients treated with combination urate lowering therapy.

The FDA is not bound by the Advisory Committee’s recommendation but takes its advice into consideration when reviewing the application for a potential medicine. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) target goal date for lesinurad is 29 December 2015.

If approved, lesinurad will be the first selective uric acid reabsorption inhibitor, or SURI, in the US. It inhibits the urate transporter, URAT1, which is responsible for the majority of the renal reabsorption of uric acid.

Sean Bohen, Executive Vice President of Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer, AstraZeneca, said: “The Committee’s positive recommendation for lesinurad is an encouraging step for patients suffering from the debilitating effects of gout. We look forward to the outcome of the FDA’s review and the opportunity to provide a new treatment option that, when combined with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, addresses both the under-excretion and over-production of uric acid, the underlying causes of gout.”

Gout is a serious and debilitating form of inflammatory arthritis caused by hyperuricemia (elevated serum uric acid (sUA)). Gout affects millions of Americans, many of whom do not reach recommended sUA treatment goals on the current standard of care (XOIs), which decrease production of uric acid. For those inadequately controlled patients, the addition of a urate lowering therapy to increase excretion of uric acid, may help them achieve treatment goals.