Ardelyx Inc (ARDX)

[Whalatane]

I sold my position in ARDX in the $4's....and have held a position in UNCY for some time.
ARDX's XPHOZAH (2 small pills a day ) is an obvious competitor to UNCY OLC ( 3 small pills a day )
The main reason I no longer own ARDX ( and I was surprised by the positive guidance on ISBRELLA ....basically the same drug just priced lower per gm ) is because of the pricing for XPHOZAH
ARDX has priced X at around $3,100 a month . Kaiser has X at Tier 5 which means a copay of around $1,000 a month to the patient
So without ARDX buying down the copay ...I doubt many of these dialysis patients ( who are often low / moderate income ) can afford it .

To date none of the 3 dialysis clinics my wife rounds are using XPHOZAH ...primarily because of the prior approval paper work and being unaffordable to her patients .
The Nephrologists are interested in X particularly for those considered intolerant to binders ...but PA's and cost are major hurdles.

UNCY has yet to announce their pivotal trial is fully enrolled ...that IMHO will be a major catalyst .
They need to carefully / slowly increase dosing of OLC to reduce serum phosphorous below 5 before the end of the 12 wk trial ......going slow will reduce side effects / AE's .
Assuming their pivotal trial succeeds I expect mgt / bod to sell the Co to a large Pharma already in the CKD space . If they go it alone they will raise capital ...and then on approval need to price OLC at a price patients and payers can afford.
JMO
No position in ARDX and currently long UNCY
Kiwi