Biopharmaceutical company Veloxis Pharmaceuticals A/S (CPH:VELO) announced on Wednesday the submission of a supplemental New Drug Application (sNDA) to the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) seeking a new indication for ENVARSUS XR (tacrolimus extended-release tablets) for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in kidney transplant patients in combination with other immunosuppressants.

This indication is commonly referred to as the de novo indication.

Reportedly, this sNDA is based on data from multinational phase 3 study LCP-Tacro 3002, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of ENVARSUS XR compared to immediate-release tacrolimus capsules for the prevention of acute allograft rejection in over 500 de novo adult kidney transplant recipients. The primary endpoint was the incidence of treatment failures within 12 months.

Treatment failure was a composite endpoint that included death, graft failure, biopsy-proven acute rejection or lost to follow-up. Reportedly, results showed treatment failure rates of 18.3% for the ENVARSUS XR group and 19.6% for the immediate-release tacrolimus capsules treatment group, demonstrating ENVARSUS XR as non-inferior to immediate-release tacrolimus capsules.

ENVARSUS XR was approved by the FDA on 10 July 2015 for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in kidney transplant patients converted from tacrolimus immediate-release formulations in combination with other immunosupressants.

According to Veloxis, its original New Drug Application (NDA) for ENVARSUS XR sought approval for the de novo indication and was filed on 30 December 2013. FDA tentatively approved ENVARSUS XR for the de novo indication on 30 October 2014, however the final approval was blocked by the exclusivity of ASTAGRAF XL, which expired on 19 July 2016.

Veloxis Pharmaceuticals is focused on improving patient lives by identifying, developing and commercialising meaningful products in transplantation and adjacent therapies.