Darbepoetin alfa administered once biweekly or monthly, an effective treatment for anaemia in CKD patients

A recent study suggests that darbepoetin alfa (DA) acts as an effective treatment for anaemia in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients not on dialysis (NoD) when administered once biweekly (Q2W) or weekly (QM). The results of this study were published in the journal, Nephrology, dialysis, transplantation.

The EXTEND study was an observational cohort study of extended dosing regimens of DA that included data obtained from 4278 patients. Data included haemoglobin levels and erythropoiesis-stimulating agent (ESA) dosing that were collected 6 months before and 12 months after DA initiation.

At the end of the study, it was seen that patients receiving ESA treatment before DA Q2W/QM initiation had a mean Hb level of 11.9 g/dL at initiation and 11.6 g/dL at Months 10-12. The mean ESA dose was 22 μg/week before initiation, 16 μg/week at initiation and 16 μg/week at Month 12. Hb levels increased from 10.3 g/dL at initiation to 11.7 g/dL at Months 4-6 in ESA-naive patients. The Hb levels were maintained at a mean level of 11.7 g/dL at Months 10-12, with mean ESA dose of 16 μg/week at initiation and 16 μg/week at Month 12.

From the above results, it can be concluded that DA Q2W/QM may be an effective treatment of anaemia in the general CKD-NoD patient population, without the need for a dose increase in patients switching from a previous ESA regimen.