Cara is developing product candidates that target the body’s peripheral nervous system and have demonstrated initial efficacy in patients with moderate-to-severe pain and pruritus, without inducing many of the undesirable side effects typically associated with currently available pain and itch therapeutics.

Its lead candidate, Korsuva (CR845/difelikefalin), is a first-in-class k-opioid receptor agonist that targets the body's peripheral nervous system, as well as certain immune cells.

In a Phase III and Phase II 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 III trials in hemodialysis patients with CKD-aP.