Veverimer demonstrates benefits in metabolic acidosis for patients with CKD, diabetes
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For patients with chronic kidney disease and diabetes, veverimer appeared to be an effective treatment for metabolic acidosis, as it improved both quality of life and physical function, according to phase 3 trial results. The results were presented virtually at the National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings.
“In previously published studies of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) of various causes and with metabolic acidosis (too much body acid), veverimer increased serum bicarbonate, indicating improved metabolic acidosis, and improved how patients felt and functioned after 52 weeks of treatment,” Donald Wesson, MD, MBA, FACP, FASN, of the Health and Wellness Center, Baylor Scott & White, Dallas, said in a related press release. “The current study examined how well veverimer improved metabolic acidosis and/or how patients felt and functioned in the portion of patients with diabetes.”
Wesson argued that it is important to explore the efficacy of veverimer in this subset of patients because “diabetes itself can adversely affect how patients feel and function and improvement of their metabolic acidosis alone might not improve how they feel and function.”
Building on their previous work, which demonstrated that veverimer significantly increased serum bicarbonate and improved physical function for patients with CKD alone, the researchers conducted a subgroup analysis of 70 patients who also had diabetes (mean age, 63.2 years; mean baseline eGFR, 28.5 mL/min/1.73 m2; mean serum bicarbonate, 17.3 mEq/L). All study patients were treated for up to 1 year with veverimer or placebo (dose titration was targeted to achieve a normal serum bicarbonate).
At 52 weeks, researchers found 64% of patients taking veverimer had at least a 4 mEq/L increase (mean increase 4.39 mEq/L) or normalization of serum bicarbonate vs. 38% taking placebo.
Furthermore, based on the kidney disease and quality of life-physical function domain, patients taking veverimer had a 12.5-point improvement in physical functioning (eg, walking several blocks or climbing a flight of stairs) compared with +0.3 for those taking placebo.
“Few interventions for CKD have improved patient quality of life or physical functioning,” the researchers wrote in the presented abstract. “Our study demonstrates that the drug candidate veverimer is an effective treatment for metabolic acidosis in diabetic CKD patients. Treatment with veverimer significantly improved how these patients felt and functioned.” – by Melissa J. Webb
Reference:Wesson D, et al. Abstract #335. Presented at: National Kidney Foundation Spring Clinical Meetings; March 26-29, 2020. (virtual meeting).
Disclosure: Healio Nephrology was unable to determine relevant financial disclosures prior to publication.