United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ: UTHR) today announced approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of a New Drug Application (NDA) for the use of Remodulin (treprostinil) Injection in the Implantable System for Remodulin® (ISR).
The ISR has been developed under a collaboration with Medtronic (NYSE: MDT). In December 2017, Medtronic received FDA approval of a premarket application (PMA) for a proprietary intravascular infusion catheter to be used with its SynchroMed™ II implantable infusion pump and related infusion system components (together referred to as the Implantable System for Remodulin) in order to deliver Remodulin for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH).
“We are extremely excited to offer this new option to patients suffering from PAH,” said Martine Rothblatt, Ph.D., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of United Therapeutics. “During the course of the DelIVery study, we received considerable physician and patient interest in the ISR. We are grateful to our collaborators at Medtronic for reaching this milestone and look forward to continuing our collaboration.”
Remodulin was originally approved by the FDA to treat PAH by continuous subcutaneous and intravenous routes of administration in 2002 and 2004, respectively, using external pumps. In the case of intravenous users, the therapy can be very burdensome and brings a risk of sepsis due to the use of a central indwelling catheter.
The ISR provides patients a new option for delivery of intravenous Remodulin, where the entire delivery system is implanted into the body and will be refilled by healthcare professionals at intervals of up to 16 weeks depending on the patient’s dose, using a syringe needle through the patient’s skin.
“External infusion pumps have been used to deliver prostacyclins for PAH, but managing the therapy places a significant burden on patients, interferes with their daily activities, and runs a high risk of infections,” said David Steinhaus, M.D., general manager of the Heart Failure business, part of the Cardiac and Vascular Group at Medtronic. “This fully implantable drug delivery system was designed to address these serious patient care concerns.”
