The FIND-CKD study was designed to investigate the optimal route of administration and dosing strategy for iron therapy in patients with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (ND-CKD) suffering from iron deficiency anaemia. Ferinject® (ferric carboxymaltose) was compared to oral iron treatment. The study met its primary endpoint, thereby demonstrating that Ferinject® reduces the need for other anaemia management (e.g. erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) or blood transfusion) in this patient population.
FIND-CKD is the largest and longest study ever conducted in patients with ND-CKD to assess the efficacy and long term safety of intravenous (i.v.) iron for the treatment of iron deficiency anaemia (IDA). More than 600 patients from 20 countries were included in this 56-week clinical trial.
The study met its primary endpoint thereby demonstrating that i.v. Ferinject® given at a starting dose of 1,000mg and subsequent dosing as required to maintain guideline-specified serum ferritin levels significantly prolongs the time until other anaemia management is needed in ND-CKD patients with iron deficiency anaemia.
While several small studies have assessed the optimal route of administration and dosing strategy for iron therapy in patients with ND-CKD, rigorous data are still sparse and, therefore, treatment schemes for the management of IDA vary widely. Hence, the results of FIND-CKD could represent a significant advance in the understanding of how to best treat ND-CKD patients with IDA.
It is important to identify and effectively treat iron deficiency anaemia in patients with ND-CKD, because IDA is associated with an increased risk of progression to end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular events and death in these patients[1,2,3]. Furthermore, the risk for anaemia increases as renal function deteriorates and it is estimated that as many as 70% of patients with ND-CKD are anaemic by the time they reach dialysis[4]. Iron deficiency is the most common cause of anaemia in patients with ND-CKD and it has been estimated that 60-70% of all patients with ND-CKD are iron deficient[5]. Iron deficiency limits effective erythropoiesis and is also the main cause of hyporesponsiveness to therapy with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs){6,7,8].
Detailed results of the study will be submitted for presentation at the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Kidney Week taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, from November 5 – 10, 2013. In addition, publication in a peer-reviewed journal is also being planned.