Velphoro’s (sucroferric oxyhydroxide) recent VELREAL multicenter study showed a 20% decrease in serum phosphorus in addition to reduced parathyroid hormone level in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients on dialysis. This study could be of high clinical value to physicians with dialysis patients looking to find an optimal treatment of choice for hyperphosphatemia (HP) and hyperparathyroidism, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

Kajal Jaddoo, Associate Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Key opinion leaders interviewed by GlobalData have emphasized that although the sucroferric oxyhydroxide pill burden is very low and clinical studies show that it is safe and effective, it has had a slow adoption in the CKD market due to issues with its cost. Despite the needs for developing optimal therapies with advanced safety, efficacy, and compliance profiles, the costly therapies remains a notable barrier in the CKD-HP treatment space.”

Velphoro is a phosphate binder, which has most recently been incorporated into clinical practice for treatment of HP patients on dialysis. The drug comprises a polynuclear iron (III)-oxyhydroxide core that is stabilized with a carbohydrate shell, which preserves the phosphate adsorption capacity. Dietary phosphate can then bind to Velphoro in the gastrointestinal tract to reduce the absorption of phosphate into the plasma.

Jaddoo concludes: “Patient adherence remains a major problem in the HP space since patients have to take a considerable amount of tablets, which makes the market penetration of new therapies difficult, unless they show significant benefits in terms of efficacy and safety compared to incumbent therapies such as sevelamer carbonate and lanthanum carbonate. This recent study demonstrating further efficacy of Velphoro for hemodialysis patients within the real clinical practice setting may bolster the current use of the drug among dialysis patients.”

Want to find out more? Send your questions to Tamika Providence, PR Executive at GlobalData (pr@globaldata.com)