Benzinga | Sep 20, 2021 04:06PM EDT

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Receives Complete Response Letter From The FDA Identifying Deficiencies At A Facility Of A Contract Manufacturer For Its New Drug Application For VP-102 For The Treatment Of Molluscum Contagiosum

Verrica Pharmaceuticals Inc. (the "Company") (NASDAQ:VRCA), a dermatology therapeutics company developing medications for skin diseases requiring medical interventions, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a Complete Response Letter (CRL) regarding its New Drug Application (NDA) for VP-102 for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum (molluscum). The Company had previously disclosed that the FDA extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) goal date for the NDA by three months to September 23, 2021 to allow the Agency additional time to review information submitted by the Company in response to comments from the Agency regarding the Company's human factors study.



According to the CRL, the FDA has identified deficiencies at a facility of a contract manufacturing organization (CMO), which are not specifically related to the manufacturing of VP-102 but instead raise general quality issues at the facility. At no time prior to the CRL was the Company notified by the FDA of any deficiencies at the CMO related specifically to the manufacturing of VP-102 or that their general investigation of the facility would have any impact on the Company's NDA. More importantly, the FDA did not identify any clinical, safety or product specific Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) deficiencies related to VP-102.

The Company understands from the CMO that it has implemented corrective actions to address the Agency's concerns and the CMO has advised Verrica that it is expecting a satisfactory resolution of the facility's identified deficiencies from the FDA within the next 30 business days. During this timeframe, the Company will engage with the Agency to demonstrate that the Company's good manufacturing practices, controls and processes ensure that any deficiencies at the CMO do not impact the efficacy, safety or quality of VP-102.

"We remain confident that we have a path forward for VP-102 as a potential treatment option for molluscum, a highly contagious viral skin disease affecting approximately six million people in the United States - primarily children - for which there are currently no FDA-approved treatments," said Ted White, Verrica's President and Chief Executive Officer.