A new drug provides a glimmer of hope for those of us with PKD: The Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. announced on April 12, 2013 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted their new drug application for the potential use of tolvaptan in the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), the disease I inherited from my father.
A New England Journal of Medicine study reports that tolvaptan slows the enlargement of cystic kidneys while also slowing the loss of kidney function–both by about 50%. The FDA’s target action date for Otsuka’s tolvaptan application is September 1, 2013. If approved, tolvaptan would become the first pharmaceutical therapy for patients with ADPKD.
