Tolvaptan (INN), also known as OPC-41061, is a selective, competitive vasopressin receptor 2 antagonist used to treat hyponatremia (low blood sodium levels) associated with congestive heart failure, cirrhosis, and the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone (SIADH). Tolvaptan was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 19, 2009, and is sold by Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. under the trade name Samsca and in India is manufactured & sold by MSN laboratories Ltd. under the trade name Tolsama & Tolvat and by Lupin under the brand name Resodim.
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Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended JINARC® (tolvaptan) for approval. This treatment has been recommended to slow the progression of cyst development and renal insufficiency of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) in adults with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage 1 to 3 at initiation of treatment with evidence of rapidly progressing disease.
Tolvaptan was developed over a period of 26 years through the persevering efforts of researchers in Otsuka’s Japanese pharmaceutical research centre. Upon discovering a cell signaling pathway that causes renal cysts to proliferate and enlarge, Otsuka launched an effort in 2004 to develop a drug for the disease in conjunction with the world’s leading ADPKD medical specialists.
