Pharmaceutical Business review

FDA to review anti-arrhythmic claims for CV Therapeutics’s Ranexa

This follows the FDA’s acceptance of a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) seeking expansion to the approved product labeling for Ranexa to include a first-line angina indication and a significant reduction in cautionary language. A separate NDA was also accepted for a potential labeling change to add reduction of hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in coronary artery disease patients with diabetes.

The two sNDAs are being reviewed by the FDA division of cardiovascular and renal products and the NDA is being reviewed by the FDA division of metabolism and endocrinology products.

The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date for the sNDAs and the NDA is July 27, 2008. The FDA has requested and CV Therapeutics has paid three separate user fees to support the review of both sNDAs and the NDA.

Louis Lange, CV Therapeutics chairman and CEO, said: “We anticipate receiving approval for first-line angina use, which would significantly expand the patient population eligible to receive Ranexa, and we are very pleased that the FDA also is now evaluating separate potential anti-arrhythmic and HbA1c reduction claims for Ranexa on the same timeline.”