A 24-Week Anemia Correction Study of Daprodustat in Japanese Dialysis Patients

Daprodustat is an oral hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor developed for treating anemia of chronic kidney disease. This 24-week, phase 3, open-label study (NCT02829320) evaluated whether daprodustat could achieve and maintain target hemoglobin levels in Japanese hemodialysis patients with anemia not receiving an erythropoiesis-stimulating agent. Twenty-eight patients received daprodustat 4 mg once daily for 4 weeks, after which doses were adjusted to achieve a hemoglobin target of 10.0 to 12.0 g/dL (inclusive). Baseline mean hemoglobin was 9.10 g/dL and mean change from baseline at 4 weeks was 0.79 g/dL (95% CI, 0.53 to 1.05). Mean hemoglobin levels reached the target range by week 8 and were maintained within this range through week 24. Daprodustat 4 mg once daily increased hemoglobin over the first 4 weeks. Throughout the 24-week study, daprodustat achieved and maintained hemoglobin within the target range and no new safety concerns were identified in hemodialysis patients not receiving erythropoiesis-stimulating agents.