Safety & Efficacy of Peginesatide for Maintenance Treatment of Anemia in Participants With Chronic Kidney Disease on Hemodialysis

Overview

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of peginesatide in the maintenance treatment of anemia in participants on dialysis.

Full Title of Study: “AFX01-14: A Phase 3, Randomized, Active-controlled, Open-label, Multi-center Study of the Safety and Efficacy of Peginesatide for the Maintenance Treatment of Anemia in Hemodialysis Patients Previously Treated With Epoetin”

Study Type

  • Study Type: Interventional
  • Study Design
    • Allocation: Randomized
    • Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
    • Primary Purpose: Treatment
    • Masking: None (Open Label)
  • Study Primary Completion Date: July 2009

Detailed Description

Anemia associated with chronic kidney disease is due to several factors, primarily the inability of the diseased kidneys to produce adequate amounts of endogenous erythropoietin. Ancillary factors include the shortened lifespan of red blood cells, iron and other nutritional deficiencies, infection, and inflammation. The presence and severity of anemia are related to the duration and extent of kidney failure. Anemia is associated with increased mortality, increased likelihood of hospitalization, reduced cognitive function, and increased left ventricular hypertrophy and heart failure. Erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs) have been established as a treatment for anemia in chronic renal failure subjects, and have improved the management of anemia over alternatives such as transfusion. Peginesatide is a parenteral formulation developed for the treatment of anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease. Peginesatide binds to and activates the human erythropoietin receptor and stimulates erythropoiesis in human red cell precursors in a manner similar to other known erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. Eligible participants were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to peginesatide administered once every 4 weeks or to continued treatment with epoetin administered 1-3 times each week, respectively. Total commitment time for this study was 4 weeks of screening followed by a minimum of 52 weeks of study treatment. To evaluate the cardiovascular safety of peginesatide injection, a composite safety endpoint (CSE) was defined for use in prospectively planned analyses which combined cardiovascular safety data from the four Phase 3 peginesatide injection studies (NCT00598273, NCT00597753, NCT00598442, and NCT00597584). The CSE consisted of six events: death, stroke, myocardial infarction, and serious adverse events of congestive heart failure, unstable angina, and arrhythmia. An independent Event Review Committee (ERC) was used to provide blinded adjudication of potential CSE events.

Interventions

  • Drug: peginesatide
    • Participants received peginesatide by intravenous (IV) or subcutaneous (SC) injection once every 4 weeks. The starting dose was based on the participant’s total weekly epoetin alfa or beta dose during the last week of the Screening Period; the first dose was administered one week after the last epoetin alfa or beta dose. Participants who received epoetin alfa or beta IV at the time of screening received peginesatide IV during the study, and participants who received epoetin alfa or beta SC at the time of screening received peginesatide SC during the study. The dose was adjusted to maintain hemoglobin levels in a target range of 10.0-12.0 g/dL and ± 1.5 g/dL from baseline during the Titration and Evaluation Periods, and 10.0-12.0 g/dL during the Long-Term Safety and Efficacy Period.
  • Drug: Epoetin alfa or Epoetin beta
    • Participants continued to receive commercially available epoetin alfa or beta by intravenous or subcutaneous injection, at the same starting dose, frequency and route of administration as received during the last week of the Screening Period, with the first study dose of epoetin alfa or beta administered after randomization at Week 0. The dose was adjusted to maintain hemoglobin levels in a target range of 10.0-12.0 g/dL and ± 1.5 g/dL from baseline during the Titration and Evaluation Periods, and 10.0-12.0 g/dL during the Long-Term Safety and Efficacy Period.

Arms, Groups and Cohorts

  • Experimental: Peginesatide
  • Active Comparator: Epoetin

Clinical Trial Outcome Measures

Primary Measures

  • Mean Change in Hemoglobin Between Baseline and the Evaluation Period
    • Time Frame: Baseline to Weeks 29-36
    • The baseline hemoglobin value is defined as the mean of five hemoglobin values: the four most recent hemoglobin values taken prior to the day of randomization and the value obtained on the day of randomization. The mean hemoglobin during the Evaluation Period for each participant is calculated as the mean of the available hemoglobin values during study Weeks 29 through 36.

Secondary Measures

  • Proportion of Participants Who Receive Red Blood Cell (RBC) Transfusions During the Titration and Evaluation Periods
    • Time Frame: Weeks 0 to 36
  • Proportion of Participants Whose Mean Hemoglobin Level During the Evaluation Period is Within the Target Range of 10.0 – 12.0 Grams Per Deciliter (g/dL)
    • Time Frame: Weeks 29 to 36

Participating in This Clinical Trial

Inclusion Criteria 1. Participants with chronic renal failure on hemodialysis for ≥ 3 months prior to randomization. 2. On IV epoetin alfa or beta maintenance therapy continuously prescribed for a minimum of 8 weeks prior to randomization. 3. Four consecutive hemoglobin values with a mean ≥ 10.0 and ≤ 12.0 g/dL during the Screening Period. Exclusion Criteria 1. Females who are pregnant or breast-feeding. 2. Known intolerance to any erythropoiesis stimulating agent or pegylated molecule or to all parenteral iron supplementation products. 3. Known bleeding or coagulation disorder. 4. Known hematologic disease or cause of anemia other than renal disease 5. Poorly controlled hypertension. 6. Evidence of active malignancy within one year prior to randomization. 7. Temporary (untunneled) dialysis access catheter. 8. A scheduled kidney transplant. 9. A scheduled surgery that may be expected to lead to significant blood loss.

Gender Eligibility: All

Minimum Age: 18 Years

Maximum Age: N/A

Are Healthy Volunteers Accepted: No

Investigator Details

  • Lead Sponsor
    • Affymax
  • Collaborator
    • Takeda
  • Provider of Information About this Clinical Study
    • Sponsor
  • Overall Official(s)
    • Vice President, Clinical Development, Study Director, Affymax

Citations Reporting on Results

Fishbane S, Schiller B, Locatelli F, Covic AC, Provenzano R, Wiecek A, Levin NW, Kaplan M, Macdougall IC, Francisco C, Mayo MR, Polu KR, Duliege AM, Besarab A; EMERALD Study Groups. Peginesatide in patients with anemia undergoing hemodialysis. N Engl J Med. 2013 Jan 24;368(4):307-19. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1203165.

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