Bayer launches its blockbuster drug finerenone to treat chronic kidney disease (CKD) associated with type-II diabetes in India.This drug will be available as brand name of Kerendia in India.
India is becoming the hub of diabetes and CKD is common in people with diabetes. Approximately 1 in 3 adults with diabetes has CKD. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetes can cause kidney disease. where, finerenone is used to treat CKD associated with type-II diabetes.
Finerenone blocks mineralocorticoid receptors, which makes it a potassium-sparing diuretic. Finerenone acts as an antagonist to mineralocorticoid receptors harboring the S810L mutation, unlike other traditional MR inhibitors such as spironolactone and eplerenone that incidentally act as agonists.
Finerenone was approved for medical use in the United States in July 2021 and the European Union approved it in February 2022. In the United States, finerenone is indicated to reduce the risk of kidney function decline, kidney failure, cardiovascular death, non-fatal heart attacks, and hospitalization for heart failure in adults with chronic kidney disease associated with type 2 diabetes. In the European Union, finerenone is indicated for the treatment of chronic kidney disease (stage 3 and 4 with albuminuria) associated with type 2 diabetes in adults.
Kerendia will be available at Rs. 97.5 per pill, which is said to be 150 percent cheaper than some developed countries.
The pivotal phase III clinical trial program of Finerenone involving more than 13,000 patients globally was undertaken to investigate the safety and efficacy of kidney and cardiovascular outcomes in patients with chronic kidney disease associated with type 2 diabetes. The results show that Finerenone significantly reduced the risk of Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR) kidney composite outcome by 23% on top of optimised Renin-angiotensin system (RAS) blockade, and significantly reduced the risk of the composite CV outcome by 14%.
