The active ingredient in Renvela is sevelamer carbonate, a polymeric amine that binds phosphate and is meant for oral administration. It was developed as a pharmaceutical alternative to sevelamer hydrochloride (Renagel®). Sevelamer carbonate is an anion exchange resin with the same polymeric structure as sevelamer hydrochloride in which carbonate replaces chloride as the counterion. While the counterions differ for the two salts, the polymer itself, the active moiety, is the same.

Renvela (sevelamer carbonate) is known chemically as poly (allylamine-co-N,N'-diallyl- 1,3-diamino-2-hydroxypropane) carbonate salt. Sevelamer carbonate is hygroscopic, but insoluble in water. The structure is represented below:

Chemical Structure of Sevelamer Carbonate

a, b = number of primary amine groups a + b = 9
c = number of crosslinking groups c = 1
m = large number to indicate extended polymer network

Renvela Tablets: Each film-coated tablet of Renvela contains 800 mg of sevelamer carbonate on an anhydrous basis. The inactive ingredients are hypromellose, diacetylated monoglycerides, microcrystalline cellulose, sodium chloride and zinc stearate. The tablet imprint contains iron oxide black ink.

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