Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 10, 2026
Induction of Nephrotic Syndrome in Mice by Retrobulbar Injection of Doxorubicin and Prevention of Volume Retention by Sustained Release Aprotinin
Published on: May 6, 2018
Adherence to Acthar Gel (RCI) and Outcomes in Patients with Membranous Nephropathy: A Claims Database Analysis
Kyle Hayes1, Mohammed Fahim2, Feng Sheng Hu2
1Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, Bridgewater, NJ, USA.
Purpose:
To describe real-world patient characteristics and outcomes after initiation of Acthar Gel (repository corticotropin injection, RCI) in the management of nephrotic syndrome (NS). This real-world study characterized patients with membranous nephropathy (MN) who initiated RCI therapy and evaluated the impact of higher versus lower adherence to RCI on NS-related outcomes, healthcare resource utilization, and medical costs.
Patients And Methods:
We retrospectively analyzed data from the Integrated Dataverse from Symphony Health database. Adult (≥18 years) patients were included if they had ≥1 inpatient or ≥2 outpatient claims for an NS and MN diagnosis (January 1, 2016-December 31, 2022); ≥1 prescription claim for RCI; and continuous eligibility ≥12 months before and ≥12 months following and including the index date. Patients with ≥2 RCI claims and a calculated proportion of days covered (PDC) were included. Those with a PDC above the sample mean were classified as "above-average" adherence and those below the mean as "below-average" adherence in that period.
Results:
The analyzed population comprised 28 patients with below-average and 34 with above-average RCI adherence. The above-average adherence cohort showed a noticeable reduction compared with the below-average adherence cohort in corticosteroid use, extended corticosteroid use, opioid use, NS-related renal biopsy procedures, all-cause and NS-related inpatient hospitalizations, and NS-related office visits. From baseline to follow-up, inpatient hospitalization rates were similar in the below-average adherence cohort for all-cause (50.0% vs 53.6%) and NS-related (35.7% vs 28.6%) admissions but markedly lower in the above-average cohort for all-cause (50.0% vs 23.5%) and NS-related (41.2% vs 8.8%) hospitalizations. Despite similar baseline medical costs, all-cause ($131,306 vs $50,048) and NS-related costs ($111,743 vs $29,868) were noticeably higher at follow-up in the below-average adherence cohort than the above-average adherence cohort.
Conclusion:
This real-world study shows that greater adherence to RCI during treatment improves overall outcomes studied.
