Ultragenyx and Kyowa Kirin Announce FDA Approval of Crysvita

Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:RARE), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel products for rare and ultra-rare diseases, Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co. Ltd (Kyowa Hakko Kirin), and Kyowa Kirin International PLC (Kyowa Kirin International) today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved Crysvita® (burosumab-twza) for the treatment of X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH) in adult and pediatric patients one year of age and older. Crysvita is an antibody that blocks fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23), a hormone that causes phosphate urinary excretion and suppresses active vitamin D production by the kidney.

As quoted in the press release:

“Patients now have an approved breakthrough therapy that can help correct the underlying disease, transforming the treatment of XLH and reducing related bone disease in both children and adults living with this disease,” said Emil D. Kakkis, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and President of Ultragenyx. “This milestone represents Ultragenyx’s second approved therapy in less than six months and validates our strategy to rapidly transform good science into effective therapies for rare diseases. This approval would not have been possible without the patients, their families and clinicians who participated and I would like to thank them for their commitment and dedication.”

XLH is a rare, hereditary, progressive and lifelong skeletal disorder characterized by renal phosphate wasting caused by excess FGF23 production. It affects both children and adults. In children, XLH causes rickets that leads to lower-extremity deformity, delayed growth and decreased height. Adults with XLH have an increased risk of fractures. Crysvita is designed to bind the excess FGF23 in these patients, normalizing phosphorus levels, improving bone mineralization, improving rickets in children and healing fractures in adults.

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