By Maria Armental
Ardelyx Inc.'s investigational kidney disease drug tenapanor
failed to meet the primary endpoint of a mid-stage clinical trial
in patients with Stage 3 chronic kidney disease with Type 2
diabetes mellitus and albuminuria.
Ardelyx, which is developing the drug with AstraZeneca PLC
(AZN), said it intends to launch in the fourth quarter a late-stage
clinical trial looking at using tenapanor to treat patients with
constipation-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS-C. The
company reported positive results in October from a mid-stage
clinical trial for that indication.
Under the terms of the agreement, AstraZeneca is to notify
Ardelyx by June 29 whether it will continue the development of
tenapanor.
If AstraZeneca pursues the development of the IBS-C indication,
Ardelyx would receive a milestone payment of about $10 million,
Ardelyx said. If AstraZeneca pursues the development of another
indication or multiple indications, Ardelyx would be entitled to a
$20 million milestone payment, it said.
Shares fell nearly 26% in late trading to $8.10, below the
52-week-low of $10.40 a share set on April 30 during regular
trading.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
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