Peginesatide in patients with anemia undergoing hemodialysis

BACKGROUND: Peginesatide, a synthetic peptide-based erythropoiesis- stimulating agent (ESA), is a potential therapy for anemia in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease. METHODS: We conducted two randomized, controlled, open-label studies (EMERALD 1 and EMERALD 2) involving patients undergoing hemodialysis. Cardiovascular safety was evaluated by analysis of an adjudicated composite safety end point - death from any cause, stroke, myocardial infarction, or serious adverse events of congestive heart failure, unstable angina, or arrhythmia - with the use of pooled data from the two EMERALD studies and two studies involving patients not undergoing dialysis. In the EMERALD studies, 1608 patients received peginesatide once monthly or continued to receive epoetin one to three times a week, with the doses adjusted as necessary to maintain a hemoglobin level between 10.0 and 12.0 g per deciliter for 52 weeks or more. The primary efficacy end point was the mean change from the baseline hemoglobin level to the mean level during the evaluation period; noninferiority was established if the lower limit of the two-sided 95% confidence interval was -1.0 g per deciliter or higher in the comparison of peginesatide with epoetin. The aim of evaluating the composite safety end point in the pooled cohort was to exclude a hazard ratio with peginesatide relative to the comparator ESA of more than 1.3. RESULTS: In an analysis involving 693 patients from EMERALD 1 and 725 from EMERALD 2, peginesatide was noninferior to epoetin in maintaining hemoglobin levels (mean between-group difference, -0.15 g per deciliter; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.30 to -0.01 in EMERALD 1; and 0.10 g per deciliter; 95% CI, -0.05 to 0.26 in EMERALD 2). The hazard ratio for the composite safety end point was 1.06 (95% CI, 0.89 to 1.26) with peginesatide relative to the comparator ESA in the four pooled studies (2591 patients) and 0.95 (95% CI, 0.77 to 1.17) in the EMERALD studies. The proportions of patients with adverse and serious adverse events were similar in the treatment groups in the EMERALD studies. The cardiovascular safety of peginesatide was similar to that of the comparator ESA in the pooled cohort. CONCLUSIONS: Peginesatide, administered monthly, was as effective as epoetin, administered one to three times per week, in maintaining hemoglobin levels in patients undergoing hemodialysisSupported by Affymax and Takeda Pharmaceutica

Randomized trial on the effect of an oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor in the treatment of IgA nephropathy

Introduction We reported increased spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) expression in kidney biopsies of patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and that inhibition of SYK reduces inflammatory cytokines production from IgA stimulated mesangial cells. Methods This study was a double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial of fostamatinib (an oral SYK inhibitor) in 76 patients with IgAN. Patients were randomised to receive placebo, fostamatinib at 100 mg or 150 mg twice daily for 24 weeks on top of maximum tolerated dose of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi). The primary end point was reduction of proteinuria. Secondary endpoints included change from baseline in eGFR and kidney histology. Results While we could not detect significant reduction in proteinuria with fostamatinib overall, in a pre-determined subgroup analysis, there was a trend for dose-dependent reduction in median proteinuria (from baseline to 24 weeks by 14%, 27% and 36% in the placebo, fostamatinib 100 mg and 150 mg groups respectively) in patients with baseline urinary protein to creatinine ratios (UPCR) more than 1000 mg/g. Kidney function (eGFR) remained stable in all groups. Fostamatinib was well tolerated. Side effects included diarrhea, hypertension and increased liver enzymes. Thirty-nine patients underwent repeat biopsy showing reductions in SYK staining associated with therapy at low dose (-1.5 v 1.7 SYK+ cells/glomerulus in the placebo group, p<0.05). Conclusions There was a trend towards reduction in proteinuria with fostamatinib in a predefined analysis of high risk patients with IgAN despite maximal care, as defined by baseline UPCR greater than 1000 mg/g. Further study may be warranted

DOSE ADJUSTMENT PRACTICES OF PEGINESATIDE VS. EPOETIN IN EMERALD 1 AND 2 PIVOTAL TRIALS

Peginesatide (P) is a synthetic, pegylated, peptide-based ESA approved for treatment of anemia due to chronic kidney disease in adult patients (pts) on dialysis. P demonstrated noninferiority to epoetin (E) in maintenance of Hb levels in hemodialysis (HD) pts in two Phase 3 randomized, active-controlled, open-label trials (EMERALD 1,2). A large dialysis organization (LDO) recently reported an ESA dose adjustment rate of 12.1/pt-year (Bond et al, ISPOR 2012). This post hoc analysis evaluated dosing practices for maintaining Hb with P vs E. Pooled data from the two trials compared P (1x monthly; N=1066) with E (1-3x wkly; N=542) in HD pts previously on stable doses of E. Hb was measured during screening, at baseline and wkly (evaluation period, wks 29-36) or every 2 wks (all other periods). Dose adjustments were not to be made more frequently than every 4 wks, unless required for safety purposes. Dose adjustments (defined as change >±20% from last dose) were evaluated during the titration (wks 0-28), evaluation, and long-term follow-up (LT, wks 36-52) periods. Dose postponements were defined as >35d for P; for E, they were >4d, 6d, or 9d for TIW, BIW, and QW, respectively. Across the entire study period, P doses were adjusted ∼3 times less frequently and held ∼8 times less than P (Table). P (per pt-year) E (per pt-year) E/P ratio Total Dose Adjustments 3.5 10.3 2.9 Dose Increases 1.7 5.3 3.0 Dose Decreases 1.8 5.0 2.8 Dost Postponements 0.6 5.0 8.3 Within each treatment arm, dose adjustment and postponement rates (including corresponding E/P ratios) were similar across titration, evaluation, and LT periods. E dose adjustment rate was similar to that of real world practice in an LDO. E doses were adjusted and held more frequently than P despite similar protocol specifications for dose alteration and Hb maintenance

Fostamatinib for the treatment of adult persistent and chronic immune thrombocytopenia: Results of two phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled trials

15Spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) signaling is central to phagocytosis-based, antibody-mediated platelet destruction in adults with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Fostamatinib, an oral Syk inhibitor, produced sustained on-treatment responses in a phase 2 ITP study. In two parallel, phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials (FIT1 and FIT2), patients with persistent/chronic ITP were randomized 2:1 to fostamatinib (n = 101) or placebo (n = 49) at 100 mg BID for 24 weeks with a dose increase in nonresponders to 150 mg BID after 4 weeks. The primary endpoint was stable response (platelets ≥50 000/μL at ≥4 of 6 biweekly visits, weeks 14-24, without rescue therapy). Baseline median platelet count was 16 000/μL; median duration of ITP was 8.5 years. Stable responses occurred in 18% of patients on fostamatinib vs. 2% on placebo (P = .0003). Overall responses (defined retrospectively as ≥1 platelet count ≥50 000/μL within the first 12 weeks on treatment) occurred in 43% of patients on fostamatinib vs. 14% on placebo (P = .0006). Median time to response was 15 days (on 100 mg bid), and 83% responded within 8 weeks. The most common adverse events were diarrhea (31% on fostamatinib vs. 15% on placebo), hypertension (28% vs. 13%), nausea (19% vs. 8%), dizziness (11% vs. 8%), and ALT increase (11% vs. 0%). Most events were mild or moderate and resolved spontaneously or with medical management (antihypertensive, anti-motility agents). Fostamatinib produced clinically-meaningful responses in ITP patients including those who failed splenectomy, thrombopoietic agents, and/or rituximab. Fostamatinib is a novel ITP treatment option that targets an important mechanism of ITP pathogenesis.openopenBussel, James; Arnold, Donald M.; Grossbard, Elliot; Mayer, Jiří; Treliński, Jacek; Homenda, Wojciech; Hellmann, Andrzej; Windyga, Jerzy; Sivcheva, Liliya; Khalafallah, Alhossain A.; Zaja, Francesco; Cooper, Nichola; Markovtsov, Vadim; Zayed, Hany; Duliege, Anne-MarieBussel, James; Arnold, Donald M.; Grossbard, Elliot; Mayer, Jiří; Treliński, Jacek; Homenda, Wojciech; Hellmann, Andrzej; Windyga, Jerzy; Sivcheva, Liliya; Khalafallah, Alhossain A.; Zaja, Francesco; Cooper, Nichola; Markovtsov, Vadim; Zayed, Hany; Duliege, Anne-Mari