Cara Therapeutics Announces Participation in 2018 Spring Clinical Meetings of the National Kidney Foundation

Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:CARA), a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities designed to alleviate pruritus and pain by selectively targeting peripheral kappa opioid receptors, today announced presentations at the 2018 Spring Clinical Meetings of the National Kidney Foundation, to be held April 10-14, 2018 in Austin.

The presentations will include data from the Company’s clinical trials of KORSUVA™ (CR845/difelikefalin) injection in hemodialysis patients with moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus. KORSUVA is Cara's first-in-class kappa opioid receptor agonist that targets the body’s peripheral nervous system, as well as certain immune cells.

Details for the presentations are as follows:

Poster Presentation:

Title:                           "Clinically Meaningful Itch Reduction By CR845: An 8-Week Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study in Hemodialysis Patients”Date / Time:               Wednesday, April 11, 2018; 6-7:30 p.m. CDT  Presenter:                  Catherine Munera, Head of Biometrics, Cara Therapeutics

Exhibitor Showcase:

Title:                           "CKD-Associated Pruritus is Underrecognized and Undertreated: An Itch Your Patients Can’t Ignore”Date / Time:               Thursday, April 12, 2018; 1:15-1:50 p.m. CDT  Presenters:                Joseph Stauffer, DO, MBA, Chief Medical Officer, Cara Therapeutics                                   Geoffrey A. Block, MD, Director of Clinical Research, Denver Nephrology Research Division, Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

For information about the 2018 Spring Clinical Meetings of the National Kidney Foundation, visit https://www.kidney.org/spring-clinical.

About Cara Therapeutics 

Cara Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing new chemical entities designed to alleviate pruritus and pain by selectively targeting peripheral kappa opioid receptors (KORs). Cara is developing a novel and proprietary class of product candidates, led by KORSUVA™ (CR845/difelikefalin), a first-in-class KOR agonist that targets the body's peripheral nervous system, as well as certain immune cells. In Phase 2 trials, KORSUVA injection has demonstrated statistically significant reductions in itch intensity and concomitant improvement in quality of life measures in hemodialysis patients with moderate-to-severe chronic kidney disease-associated pruritus (CKD-aP) and is currently being investigated in Phase 3 trials in hemodialysis patients with CKD-aP. Additionally, CR845/difelikefalin has demonstrated initial signs of efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe pain, without inducing many of the undesirable side effects typically associated with currently available opioid pain therapeutics.

The FDA has conditionally accepted KORSUVA™ as the trade name for difelikefalin injection. CR845/difelikefalin is an investigational drug product, and its safety and efficacy have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.

INVESTOR CONTACT:Michael SchaffzinStern Investor [e-mail]

MEDIA CONTACT:Annie Starr6 Degrees973-415-8838 [e-mail]