EClinicalMedicine (Nov 2023)

Pegmolesatide for the treatment of anemia in patients undergoing dialysis: a randomized clinical trialResearch in context

  • Ping Zhang,
  • Yan Jiang,
  • Chunping Xu,
  • Linghui Zhou,
  • Hongguang Zheng,
  • Deqiong Xie,
  • Minghao Guo,
  • Xiangyang Huang,
  • Guoyuan Lu,
  • Hongli Jiang,
  • Hongyu Qiu,
  • Bicheng Liu,
  • Shaomei Li,
  • Qinkai Chen,
  • Yu'ou Xia,
  • Bengui Sun,
  • Xiao Yang,
  • Shiying Zhang,
  • Shutong Du,
  • Mindan Sun,
  • Menghua Chen,
  • Aimin Zhong,
  • Xiaoling Wang,
  • Zhanzheng Zhao,
  • Hua Zhou,
  • Guisen Li,
  • Yueqin Ren,
  • Qun Luo,
  • Aicheng Yang,
  • Ping Luo,
  • Shuifu Tang,
  • Chengyun Xu,
  • Qin Wang,
  • Xiaoxia Wang,
  • Tiekun Yan,
  • Wei He,
  • Shuguang Qin,
  • Weili Zhang,
  • Lu Lv,
  • Cheng Wang,
  • Hong Liu,
  • Jing Li,
  • Qiong Wu,
  • Chao Pan,
  • Chuan Li,
  • Liangliang He,
  • Jianghua Chen

Journal volume & issue
Vol. 65
p. 102273

Abstract

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Summary: Background: Pegmolesatide, a synthetic peptide-based erythropoietin (EPO) receptor agonist, is being evaluated as an alternative to epoetin alfa for treating anemia of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Chinese dialysis patients. There is a critical need for a long-acting, cost-effective erythropoiesis-stimulating agent that does not produce EPO antibodies. Methods: A randomized, open-label, active-comparator, non-inferiority phase three trial was conducted at 43 dialysis centers in China between May 17th, 2019, and March 28th, 2022. Eligible patients aged 18–70 years were randomly assigned (2:1) to receive pegmolesatide once every four weeks or epoetin alfa one to three times per week, with doses adjusted to maintain a hemoglobin level between 10.0 and 12.0 g/dL. The primary efficacy endpoint was the mean change in hemoglobin level from baseline to the efficacy evaluation period in the per-protocol set (PPS) population. Non-inferiority of pegmolesatide to epoetin alfa was established if the lower limit of the two-sided 95% confidence interval for the between-group difference was ≥ −1.0 g/dL. Safety assessment included adverse events and potential anaphylaxis reactions. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03902691. Findings: Three hundreds and seventy-two patients were randomly assigned to the pegmolesatide group (248 patients) or the epoetin alfa group (124 patients). A total of 347 patients (233 in the pegmolesatide group and 114 in the epoetin alfa group) were included in the PPS population. In the PPS, the mean change (standard deviation, SD) in hemoglobin level from baseline to the efficacy evaluation period was 0.07 (0.92) g/dL in the pegmolesatide group and −0.22 (0.97) g/dL in the epoetin alfa group. The between-group difference was 0.29 g/dL (95% confidence interval: 0.11–0.47), verifying non-inferiority of pegmolesatide to epoetin alfa. Adverse events occurred in 231 (94%) participants in the pegmolesatide group and in 110 (89%) in the epoetin alfa group. Hypertension was the most common treatment-related adverse event. No fatal cases of anaphylaxis or hypotension were reported. Interpretation: Monthly subcutaneously injection of pegmolesatide was as effective and safe as conventional epoetin alfa administrated one to three times a week in treating anemia in Chinese dialysis patients. Funding: The study was supported by Hansoh Medical Development Group.

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