Cara Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARA) Q2 2023 Earnings Conference Call August 7, 2023 4:30 PM ET

Company Participants

Matthew Murphy - Manager, IR

Christopher Posner - President, CEO & Director

Ryan Maynard - CFO

Scott Terrillion - Chief Compliance Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Conference Call Participants

Dennis Ding - Jefferies

Annabel Samimy - Stifel, Nicolaus & Company

Joseph Stringer - Needham & Company

Sumant Kulkarni - Canaccord Genuity

David Amsellem - Piper Sandler & Co.

Chi Fong - Bank of America Merrill Lynch

Operator

Thank you for standing by, and welcome to Cara Therapeutics' Second Quarter 2023 Earnings Call. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. [Operator Instructions]. After the speaker presentation, there will be a question-and-answer session. To ask a question during the session, you I would now like to hand the call over to Matt Murphy, Investor Relations. Please go ahead.

Matthew Murphy

Thank you, operator, and good afternoon. After market closed today, Cara issued a news release announcing the company's financial and operating results for the second quarter of 2023. Copies of this news release and the associated SEC filings can be found in the Investors section of our website at www.caratherapeutics.com.

Before we begin, let me remind you that during the course of this conference call, we will be making certain forward-looking statements about Cara and our programs based on management's current plans and expectations. These statements are being made under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially due to various factors, and Cara undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements publicly as a result of new information or future results or developments. Investors should read the risk factors set forth in Cara's 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, and any subsequent reports filed with the SEC, including its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2023.

With that said, I'd like to turn the call over to Chris Posner, Cara's Chief Executive Officer. Chris?

Christopher Posner

Thanks, Matt. Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for joining our call. With me today are Ryan Maynard, our Chief Financial Officer; Dr. Joana Goncalves, our Chief Medical Officer; and Scott Terrillion, our General Counsel and Head of Government Affairs.

I'd like to start by giving a quick overview of what I'll address today. First, I will give an update on the KORSUVA injection launch in the U.S., including clinic-level data to provide visibility into underlying demand trends across the different segments of the dialysis market. I will also briefly touch on the proposed calendar year 2024 ESRD PPS rule, which CMS published in late June. Next, I will review the Kapruvia launch progress in countries around the world. Then I will discuss our wholly owned pipeline and the progress of our 3 late-stage programs for oral difelikefalin. Finally, Ryan will provide a financial update, after which we will open up the call to Q&A.