GSK Daprodustat bags USFDA review to treat anemia of CKD

The daprodustat NDA is based on positive results from the ASCEND phase III clinical trial programme, which included five pivotal trials assessing the efficacy and safety of daprodustat for the treatment of anaemia across the spectrum of CKD. Results from the key cardiovascular outcomes trials were published in the New England Journal of Medicine in November 2021 and included non-dialysis (ASCEND-ND) and dialysis (ASCEND-D) CKD patients. These trials demonstrated that daprodustat improved and/or maintained haemoglobin (Hb) within the target level (10-11.5 g/dL) without increased major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) in the intention-to-treat (ITT) populations in each pivotal study, when compared to the standard of care, an erythropoietin stimulating agent (ESA), across both non-dialysis and dialysis patient settings.

Daprodustat is currently approved in Japan as Duvroq for patients with renal anaemia. In March 2022, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) validated the marketing authorisation application (MAA) for daprodustat, which is currently under review. Additional regulatory filings are anticipated to continue throughout 2022.