Relypsa gains on DDI data

Relypsa Inc. (NASDAQ:RLYP) gained $3.28 to $22.90 in early after-hours trading Monday after reporting data from Phase I drug-drug interaction studies of hyperkalemia drug Veltassa patiromer. Veltassa was approved in October 2015 with a black box warning that recommends against taking it within six hours of other oral medications (see BioCentury Extra, Oct. 21, 2015).

The Phase I trials evaluated 12 drugs that had been shown to bind with Veltassa in in vitro studies. Neither absorption nor peak concentration (Cmax) of any of the 12 were affected when Veltassa was given three hours after the test drug. When dosed at the same time as Veltassa, four of the drugs' absorption and Cmax were unaffected. Cmax but not absorption was affected for five drugs. Both Cmax and absorption were affected for three. ...