07:28 AM EDT, 08/28/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Vanda Pharmaceuticals ( VNDA ) said Thursday that VGT-1849B, a candidate for the treatment of polycythemia vera, was granted Orphan Drug Designation by the US Food and Drug Administration.

The drug is a selective peptide nucleic acid-based JAK2 inhibitor, which have been shown to efficacious in treating various JAK-dependent hematologic malignancies, including polycythemia vera, the company said.

If approved, VGT-1849B could offer targeted efficacy with an improved safety profile and convenient infrequent dosing, Vanda said.

Vanda shares were down 3.7% in recent premarket activity on Thursday.