On Wednesday, Cara Therapeutics (NASDAQ:$CARA) stock increased after the biotech company revealed promising data from a Phase 1 drug trial for chronic kidney disease patients.
If you’re a biotech investor, you are probably aware of the fact that Cara shares have fluctuated over the course of the past month. For instance, towards the end of June, Cara Therapeutics stock increased 52% in just six trading days but ended up losing it all on the last day of the month during a mixed trial in knee and hip pain. However, on Wednesday, the forecast changed. It now looks like Cara stock could be in the running again.
Today, Cara stock increased 7% to 13.44, after increasing as much as 14% intraday. Before the market opened Wednesday, Cara had reported that its drug (“CR845”) proved to be a safe oral drug for chronic kidney disease patients who, due to hemodialysis, experience itching.
Ken Trbovich, an analyst for Janney who has a neutral rating on Cara stock, said that the announcement is “an incremental step forward.” Additionally, Cara is testing CR845 as an intravenous drug to treat the same disorder. This program is further along in the process, with the company recently revealing Phase 2 & 3 data and a milestone designation.
“Oral administration of CR845 has the potential to significantly expand the addressable market for CR845 beyond dialysis patients, which is the target market of the IV formulation,” Trbovich wrote in a letter to clients.
Results showed in the trial that oral CR845 was well-tolerated when given daily or after dialysis three times per week at four tablet strengths. According to Trbovich, the oral version of the drug has the potential to expand Cara’s market to 3.5 million to 4.5 million chronic kidney disease patients, not on dialysis.
Other than kidney disease, Cara Therapeutics is developing oral CR845 for hip and knee pain. However, Cara stock lost almost 40% of its value on June 30 after the results of a study indicated a benefit on hip pain but not for knee pain.
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