VERA Stock Surges After Drug To Treat Rare Kidney Disease Gets FDA Approval – Retail Sees The Move As Catalyst For Vera Therapeutics

• IgAN is a life-threatening kidney disease that occurs when an abnormal form of an immunoglobulin A antibody builds up in the kidneys, causing kidney inflammation and damage.
• In the ongoing Phase 3 Origin trial, data from 428 patients who had received at least one dose of Trutakna or placebo were assessed.
• The study showed that Trutakna was well tolerated, with the most common adverse effects being infections and local administration reactions.

Shares of Vera Therapeutics (VERA) surged on Tuesday after the company’s therapy to treat a rare autoimmune kidney disease was approved in the U.S.

At the time of writing, VERA stock was up 7% and among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits.

FDA Approves Vera’s Trutakna

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Trutakna (atacicept-vymj). It granted the company’s therapy an early, fast-tracked approval to reduce proteinuria–the presence of an abnormal amount of protein in the urine–in adults with primary IgA Nephropathy (IgAN) whose health is at risk of deteriorating.

IgAN is a life-threatening kidney disease that occurs when an abnormal form of an immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibody builds up in the kidneys, causing kidney inflammation and damage, according to the FDA. This kidney damage can cause protein to leak from the blood into the urine, resulting in loss of kidney function over time, and ultimately leading to kidney failure.

“We believe Trutakna offers a novel approach to addressing this serious disease and has the potential to advance care for patients with this significant unmet medical need,” said Marshall Fordyce, M.D., Founder and CEO of Vera Therapeutics.

Details Of The Study

In the ongoing Phase 3 Origin trial, data from 428 patients who had received at least one dose of the drug or placebo were assessed. The study showed that Trutakna was well tolerated, with the most common adverse effects being infections and local administration reactions.

Under prespecified study conditions, subjects treated with the company’s drug for 9 months achieved a 46% reduction in proteinuria compared with the placebo group.

Along with the approval, the FDA has advised against administering live vaccines within 30 days before starting Trutakna or during treatment with it.

What Retail Thinks About VERA

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment toward VERA stock remained in ‘extremely bullish’ territory over the last 24 hours, with many users on the platform seeing the approval as a strong catalyst for the company.

VERA stock has declined 14% so far this year but has risen more than 90% over the past 12 months.

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com