Idorsia Pharmaceuticals announced that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved QUVIVIQ (daridorexant) 25 mg and 50 mg for the treatment of adult patients with insomnia, characterized by difficulties with sleep onset and/or sleep maintenance.

QUVIVIQ is a dual orexin receptor antagonist, which blocks the binding of the wake-promoting neuropeptides orexins and is thought to turn down overactive wakefulness, as opposed to treatments that generally sedate the brain. 

The FDA approval of QUVIVIQ is based on a clinical program that included 1,854 adults with insomnia at over 160 clinical trial sites across 18 countries.

During the clinical program, QUVIVIQ demonstrated significant improvement versus placebo on objective measures of sleep onset and sleep maintenance, and patient-reported total sleep time. Consistent with the US prescribing information, the 50 mg dose of QUVIVIQ, which was evaluated in one of the two pivotal studies, demonstrated a significant reduction in patient-reported daytime sleepiness, using a validated instrument. The most common adverse reactions (in at least 5% of patients and greater than placebo) were headache (placebo: 5%, 25 mg: 6%, 50 mg: 7%,) and somnolence or fatigue (placebo: 4%, 25 mg: 6%, 50 mg: 5%). 

The FDA has recommended that QUVIVIQ be classified as a controlled substance and it is anticipated to be available to patients in May 2022, following scheduling by the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

“With this first FDA approval for our company, QUVIVIQ provides a new treatment option that can help adults with insomnia get to sleep faster and stay asleep longer, which we know plays an important role in how they feel the next day. It’s an incredibly exciting time for us and I can’t wait to transform the treatment paradigm in the US,” says Patricia Torr, President and General Manager of Idorsia US, in a statement.