Calcium channel Inhibitors
13 drugsAbout Calcium channel
Calcium channels are integral membrane proteins regulating calcium ion influx, crucial for muscle contraction, neurotransmitter release, and hormone secretion.
Human genetics provide strong validation for calcium channels as therapeutic targets, with variants linked to acquired long QT syndrome (score 0.92) and Timothy syndrome (score 0.92). Loss-of-function variants are associated with increased risk, suggesting activation may be beneficial.
Calcium channels are targeted by 13 FDA-approved small molecule drugs, including KATERZIA, NICARDIPINE HYDROCHLORIDE and AMLODIPINE BESYLATE, primarily for cardiovascular indications. Top companies include AZURITY, BIONPHARMA, and STRIDES PHARMA INTL.
Calcium channel Genetic Evidence Strong
Calcium channel target validation is strongly supported by human genetics (max score 0.92).
Strong genetic support suggests prioritizing agonist therapies for genetically validated indications.
💡 Why activation?
- • Loss-of-function variants increase disease risk (OR > 1) — restoring function may help
- • 100% directional consistency across 2 traits
- • Strong signal in genetic, familial or congenital disease, phenotype pathways
Cross-Disease Effects
Trade-off: LowDirection of Effect
100% alignedEvidence Across Diseases
20 totalGWAS and other genetic studies link CACNA1C to 42 diseases.
Loss-of-function causes disease; activation may help
🔗 Colocalization Evidence 20 strong
max H4: 1.00eQTL/pQTL signals for CACNA1C colocalize with these GWAS traits, providing causal evidence that gene expression changes drive disease risk.
Understanding these scores
Association Score (0-1): Combines all evidence types (genetic, literature, drugs, animal models). Higher = more evidence linking target to disease. This is a ranking heuristic, not a confidence score.
L2G Score: Open Targets uses a machine learning model (Locus-to-Gene) to predict which gene is causal at each GWAS locus. L2G=0.5 means ~50% probability of being the causal gene. Only associations with L2G > 0.05 are included.
Odds Ratio (OR): From gene burden studies (UK Biobank, AstraZeneca PheWAS). Measures how loss-of-function variants affect disease risk. OR<1 = protective (inhibiting target may help), OR>1 = risk (losing function causes disease).
Beta (β): Effect size for continuous traits. β<0 = protective, β>0 = risk.
Clinical Translation (~1.8x): Based on Nelson et al. 2015: drug targets with genetic evidence have ~2x higher success rates in clinical trials. We estimate: Strong support (score ≥0.7) → ~1.8x, Moderate (0.3-0.7) → ~1.3x, Weak → baseline.
Colocalization (H4): Tests whether a GWAS signal and an eQTL/pQTL signal share the same causal variant. H4 is the posterior probability that both traits are associated AND share a causal variant. H4 > 0.8 = strong evidence that gene expression/protein levels drive disease risk. This links genetic variation → gene expression → disease, supporting the target-disease connection.
Top Calcium channel Drugs
Ten companies have approved calcium channel drugs, with AZURITY among the leaders.
The presence of multiple players suggests a moderately competitive market with potential entry barriers.
| Drug | Company | Approved | Indications |
|---|---|---|---|
| SDAMLO | BRILLIAN PHARMA | 2025 | 4 |
| NORVASC | Viatris | 1992 | 3 |
| AMLODIPINE BESYLATE, VALSARTAN AND HYDROCHLOROTHIAZIDE | TORRENT | 2012 | 3 |
| NICARDIPINE HYDROCHLORIDE | CHENGDU SHUODE | 1996 | 2 |
| CARDENE IN 4.8% DEXTROSE IN PLASTIC CONTAINER | CHIESI | 1992 | 2 |
| CARDENE IN 0.86% SODIUM CHLORIDE IN PLASTIC CONTAINER | CHIESI | 1992 | 2 |
| CARDENE IN 0.83% SODIUM CHLORIDE IN PLASTIC CONTAINER | CHIESI | 1992 | 2 |
| NICARDIPINE HYDROCHLORIDE IN 0.9% SODIUM CHLORIDE | Fresenius Kabi | 2008 | 2 |
| NICARDIPINE HYDROCHLORIDE IN 0.86% SODIUM CHLORIDE | INFORLIFE | 2024 | 2 |
| NICARDIPINE HYDROCHLORIDE IN 0.83% SODIUM CHLORIDE | INFORLIFE | 2024 | 2 |
Calcium channel Drug Modality Landscape
Modalities
Routes of Administration
Calcium channel is amenable to small molecule drugs, with oral options available for convenient dosing.
Consider novel modalities to differentiate from existing small molecule calcium channel drugs.
Calcium channel Clinical Trials 503 trials
Phase 1-4 trials started in 2008 or later that test an FDA-approved drug acting on Calcium channel. Source: ClinicalTrials.gov. How we count
Completion by Phase
| Phase | Total | Completed | Stopped | Active | Completion |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | 115 | 104 | 6 | 5 | 95% |
| Phase 2 | 83 | 56 | 15 | 12 | 79% |
| Phase 3 | 122 | 97 | 13 | 12 | 88% |
| Phase 4 | 183 | 130 | 30 | 22 | 81% |
Top Sponsors
By Modality
Top Conditions
Top Drugs
Calcium channel Drug Approval Timeline (1992 - 2025)
The first calcium channel drug was approved in 1992, with the most recent in 2025.
The 34-year approval span indicates sustained interest, but recent approvals suggest continued opportunity.
Pro Intelligence Preview
Deep insights for drug target analysis
Competitive Landscape
- • 10 companies competing
- • Market share by company
Full Drug Portfolio
- • All 13 approved drugs
- • Approval dates & indications
Genetic Validation
- • Full genetic evidence table
- • Effect sizes & directions
Approval Timeline
- • Full 13-drug timeline
- • First-of-modality markers
Clinical Trials Analysis
- • Sponsors: 268 (75 companies)
- • Completion rates by condition
Full summary • All drugs • Genetic evidence • Trials • Timeline
How We Count Trials
- Trials: phase 1-4 interventional trials on ClinicalTrials.gov that started in 2008 or later and test an FDA-approved drug acting on Calcium channel. A trial counts if an approved drug acting on Calcium channel is in any arm, including as a comparator, and a trial that tests two such drugs counts once. Trials that test only unapproved drugs are not counted. A trial listed as phase 1/2 counts as phase 1, and phase 2/3 as phase 2.
- Active: recruiting, not yet recruiting, enrolling by invitation, or active and no longer recruiting.
- Completion rate: of the trials that have ended, the share marked Completed rather than Terminated or Withdrawn. Completed means the trial ended as planned; it does not mean the drug worked. Suspended trials are not counted as ended.
- Stopped: terminated or withdrawn. Trials stop for many reasons, including slow enrolment and business decisions, not only safety or efficacy.
- Sponsors: the lead sponsor of each trial. Companies are the sponsors ClinicalTrials.gov classes as industry; the rest are universities, hospitals, cooperative groups, government bodies and individuals.