4 September 2015 - Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Xuriden (uridine triacetate), the first FDA-approved treatment for patients with hereditary orotic aciduria. Hereditary orotic aciduria is a rare metabolic disorder, which has been reported in approximately 20 patients worldwide.

Hereditary orotic aciduria is inherited from a recessive gene. The disease is due to a defective or deficient enzyme, which results in the body being unable to normally synthesize uridine, a necessary component of ribonucleic acid (RNA). Signs and symptoms of the disease include blood abnormalities (anemia, decreased white blood cell count, decreased neutrophil count), urinary tract obstruction due to the formation of orotic acid crystals in the urinary tract, failure to thrive, and developmental delays.

“Today’s approval and rare pediatric disease priority review voucher underscore the FDA’s commitment to making treatments available to patients with rare diseases,” said Amy G. Egan, M.D., M.P.H., deputy director of the Office of Drug Evaluation III in the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). “Prior to Xuriden’s approval, patients with this rare disorder had no approved treatment options.”

For more details, go to: http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/Newsroom/PressAnnouncements/ucm457867.htm